Dashcam Video Captures Small Plane Landing On A Busy California Street
The video embedded above, which captures the amazing moment when a small plane made an emergency landing on a busy California street, is going viral. According to UPI, the video uploaded to YouTube by user CalicoStrike shows the plane landing at a busy intersection in Irvine, California. A voice from a person seated inside the car is heard saying “Are you kidding me?” when he sees the aircraft land in the middle of the road on the evening of September 16.
Meanwhile, Coast Report Online has confirmed from Irvine Police Spokesperson Farrah Emami that the aircraft that made the emergency landing belonged to OCC Aviation, and there were two people — a trainee pilot and a pilot inside the aircraft — at the time of the incident. The aircraft was a Piper Cherokee, which was originally planning to land at the nearby John Wayne Airport about 6:18 p.m. September 16.
According to the report, the pilot on board the aircraft was left with no choice but to land the plane on the road after its engine shut off mid-flight. Luckily for the people on board the plane and on the ground, the aircraft was able to make a safe landing without injuring anyone. The plane touched down at around 6:18 p.m. local time.
Daniel Schrader, the OCC’S dean of technology, clarified that a student and an instructor were doing a takeoff and landing exercise on the plane when its engine failed. The instructor took control of the plane and made a safe landing on the road below. It was incidentally the first training trip for the student onboard the plane.
“The plane wasn’t high enough to be able to land back on the air strip it had just taken off from and was forced to land on the nearest open space,” Schrader said.
According to witnesses, it was amazing that the plane was able to land safely even though the road was full of traffic at the time. After seeing the plane approach, nearby cars made way for it and stopped to give it enough room.
“It was crazy watching the fire trucks and police officers swarm to the scene after the plane had landed. You don’t expect to see a plane land on the street in front of you every day,” said Rudy de Leon, 42, who witnessed the incident happen.
An investigation is underway to figure out what caused the engine of the plane to switch off.
[Image Via YouTube Screengrab]
