Pilot With Engine Trouble Lands Safely on Freeway

For about an hour Sunday evening, the Simi Valley Freeway served as an impromptu airport for a lucky pilot who had engine trouble over the San Fernando Valley.

The pilot, whose name was not released by authorities, realized about 6 p.m. that his two-seater, Aeronca 15AC was having problems, according to Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

The pilot decided to try to land at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima. But he never made it that far.

He instead made an emergency landing on the right shoulder of freeway’s westbound side, near the San Fernando Road exit. No cars were hit, Humphrey said, and the pilot appeared to be uninjured.

“He appeared to be in good spirits,” Humphrey said.

Officers closed west lanes of the freeway and contacted officials at Whiteman. A mechanic and flight instructor came from the airport to examine the plane. In short order they made repairs, according to a Federal Aviation Administration official, and deemed the plane airworthy.

Figuring that the closed freeway lanes could be as good a takeoff as landing strip, the flight instructor taxied down the freeway and took off, landing the plane at Whiteman, an FAA official said.

The FAA is investigating the incident.