Pierce Fireworks Audience Sees Plane’s Safe Emergency Landing

The pilot of a rented single-engine Cessna landed safely on Victory Boulevard near Mason Avenue late Thursday, witnessed by hundreds of Fourth of July revelers watching a fireworks display nearby at Pierce College, Fire Department officials said.

The pilot and three passengers were not hurt, said Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells. City emergency crews were called at 9:28 p.m.

“The guy is an excellent pilot,” said Joe Berman, 30, of Valencia, who watched the emergency landing. “We saw it come straight in, and by the time we turned around, the plane had already stopped.”

Berman said he and hundreds of others were switching from watching the fireworks to watching the plane make its landing at what authorities said was about 100 mph. “It was a smorgasbord for the eyes,” he said.

The pilot and the passengers had rented the plane to get a closer look at the fireworks show, said LAPD Officer Jim Reid. The airplane apparently had engine trouble, he said.

Victory Boulevard near the campus was closed for the show, allowing a safe landing, authorities said.

Afterward, the landing caused a traffic jam as the approximately 10,000 fireworks spectators left Pierce College, joining another 7,000 people who had parked in adjacent neighborhoods to see the show, said LAPD Sgt. Charles Buttitta.

The pilot was being interviewed by police, Buttitta said.