Plane Lands Safely on Magic Mountain Lot

A pilot and a fine arts instructor en route from Fullerton to fly over the Christo umbrellas project made an emergency landing Friday on a parking lot at the Magic Mountain amusement park.

Pilot John Chambers and his passenger, Joyce Toy, both of Fullerton, were not injured in the 1 p.m. landing on the half-mile-long parking lot, authorities said.

Chambers said the single-engine Cessna 150 began losing power as the aircraft flew north through the Newhall Pass.

Chambers issued an emergency radio call, which was heard by a nearby sheriff’s helicopter pilot who told Chambers to land in the parking lot at Magic Mountain. The park is closed to the public on weekdays.

Courtney Simmons, spokeswoman for the amusement park in Valencia, said deputies notified the park and along with park security guards made sure cars belonging to employees were moved to allow a clear landing strip in the 110-acre parking lot.

“We cleared out the cars,” Simmons said. “The pilot used the entire length of the parking lot before screeching to a halt about 20 feet from the fence.”