Lack of Gas Forces Plane to Land on Freeway

If Elliot Moriarty finally reaches his goal of becoming a flight instructor, he can teach students a lesson he learned well Monday afternoon: Check your gas gauge.

The 27-year-old novice pilot--on his first solo long-distance flight--ran out of gas just a few miles from Van Nuys Airport and had to make an emergency landing on the eastbound Ventura Freeway near Tampa Avenue.

He glided the craft gently onto the freeway as vehicles in front of him sped up and those behind slowed down to open a gap for him to land in. “I’m sure they were thinking, ‘What the hell is happening?’ ” Moriarty said, standing safely by the plane after the landing. “I can’t believe it happened to me either.”

No one was injured in the incident and the two-seater Cessna suffered no damage. But two freeway lanes had to be closed, slowing traffic during rush hour, according to the California Highway Patrol.

It was the second emergency landing on a local thoroughfare in as many days. On Sunday, another small plane landed safely on 30th Street East at Avenue P-8 in Palmdale.

Moriarty--who has only 22 hours of flight experience and holds a student pilot license--is training to become a flight instructor. The small plane he was flying belongs to Group 3 Aviation, a training school based at the Van Nuys Airport. In most of his flying so far, he had been joined by a flight instructor, Moriarty said. Monday, he was trying to replicate alone a flight he made last week with his instructor.

He took off from Van Nuys about 1:30 p.m. His first stop was Santa Ynez, which he found after getting lost, a half-hour detour that used up the fuel he ended up needing later, Moriarty said.

He then landed and took off from Santa Barbara. On his way back to Van Nuys he followed the Ventura Freeway. When he reached Tarzana, the engine began to stall. The gas gauge showed one-eighth of a tank of fuel, he said, but the plane continued to lose power. He radioed Van Nuys Airport and was told to find the most suitable place to land.

He opted for the freeway instead of city streets. “What if I don’t make it?” he asked himself. “What if I die?”

Descending at about 65 mph, he touched down about 100 feet before the Tampa Avenue off-ramp, where he finally stopped.

The plane would be towed to Van Nuys Airport, said CHP Sgt. Adrian Torres.

Federal Aviation Administration officials declined to come to the scene because there were no injuries or damage to property, Torres said.

Moriarty, with a new-found caution, said he would still pursue his dream of flying. “I’m not really proud,” he said. Next time, “I may not be as fortunate as this.”