Plane loses power, flips trying to land near Santa Maria
Two people escaped injury Friday morning after their single-engine aircraft lost power and then flipped during landing off Highway 166 near Santa Maria, officials said.
The single-wing plane, a CubCrafter, lost power en route to San Luis Obispo about 10:30 a.m. near Twitchell Reservoir between southern San Luis Obispo and northern Santa Barbara counties, according to the FAA and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Cal Fire firefighters from San Luis Obispo were searching the highway and surrounding area for the missing aircraft.
The pair was finally found uninjured by an employee with Los Padres National Forest.
It landed in a dry lake bed and flipped over.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department was investigating the mishap.
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