Pilot Safely Lands Sputtering Plane in College Parking Lot

At least two non-students were glad that school was out Friday afternoon at Palomar Community College in San Marcos.

When their plane began losing power about 3 p.m., flight instructor Ron Corbin and student pilot Joan Hershfeld had little choice but to find a flat spot in which to land the 1946 Stinson Voyager.

The pair had been flying in the Fallbrook area and were headed to Palomar Airport in Carlsbad when the single-engine craft threatened to become a no-engine craft.

That’s when Corbin spotted a welcome sight, a nearly deserted parking lot on the western side of the college. Corbin told witnesses that he had to hedge-hop one car in his path and avoid a couple of others to bring down the plane safely. Neighbors who saw the low-flying plane and heard its sputtering engine called the fire department.

“It was a hell of a landing,” San Marcos Fire Capt. Michael Marks said with admiration.

It was the first time that Corbin had landed anywhere but on an airport runway, but, “I have practiced the procedure many times,” he said. Marks said the plane was in excellent shape after its unscheduled landing. There were no fuel leaks or serious damage to the fuselage. After an investigation, Federal Aviation Administration officials released the plane to its owner, Hershfeld’s husband, John, Marks said.

Corbin, 28, of Ramona, runs a flight school at Palomar Airport and was taking Hershfeld, of Elfin Forest, on a training flight when the engine revved and a loud knocking began, Corbin said.

“A rod broke and knocked a hole the size of a golf ball in the engine,” he said. “All the oil spewed out. I knew we were seconds away before the engine seized up.”

Corbin headed for the emptiest and largest Palomar parking lot he could find. “It was pretty routine, although I did have to hop over one car,” he said of the landing.

Corbin said that the Hershfelds, both student pilots with about 10 hours of flying time each, will have the aircraft trucked back to Palomar Airport. Meantime, they plan to camp in their motor home in the parking lot to keep away vandals.

A switchboard operator at Palomar College said no officials were available for comment Friday because the school is “on a class break.” That was a lucky break for the fliers, because the parking lots are usually “full to overflowing,” she said.