LOCAL : Simi Valley Street to Be Runway
A plane that ran low on fuel and made an emergency landing in a field in Simi Valley was expected to be cleared for takeoff today from a rural residential street west of the city, authorities said.
Simi Valley police said the single-engine Cessna, piloted by Michael L. Dimeco and carrying his wife and two young children, landed at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the vacant field at the southeast corner of Madera Road and Los Angeles Street.
Dimeco told police the plane was almost out of fuel and he had radio communication problems that prevented him from contacting an airport.
“That corner is the only one that’s not developed,” Lt. Dick Thomas said. “It was the only place to land in that area.”
Police did not know where Dimeco was headed when forced to land.
The Ventura County Transportation Department granted Dimeco a permit this morning allowing the refueled plane to take off from Tierra Rejado Road, about a mile from where it landed.
The California Highway Patrol said officers would stop traffic for the takeoff.
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