Pilot Lands Plane Safely on Palmdale Street
A single-engine airplane made an emergency landing on a main thoroughfare Monday, but no one was injured, authorities said.
The plane, a Mustang II experimental craft, touched down safely on Palmdale Boulevard about 2:35 p.m. and took off again after a clogged fuel system was repaired, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Terry Lewis said.
The plane’s engine failed about 45 minutes after it took off from Mojave Airport in the northern Antelope Valley, Lewis said.
After the pilot--Stuart McCurdy, of Austin, Tex.--saw a break in the traffic, he landed on Palmdale Boulevard between 50th Street East and 60th Street East, Lewis said.
That section of road, several miles east of downtown, is usually not heavily traveled, Lewis said.
After the plane’s fuel line was fixed, Federal Aviation Authority officials cleared the craft to make the short flight back to Mojave Airport.
Said a matter-of-fact Lewis: “It doesn’t happen every day, but everyone worked together and things worked out pretty well.”
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
