This Tuesday, Southern California traffic was affected by a vehicle larger than the average car.
At around noon, aviator Andrew Cho was piloting a single-engine Piper PA-32 toward Corona Municipal Airport.
However, something was terribly wrong.
As reported in a written report to KTLA via California Highway Patrol Capt. Levi Miller, there was “possible engine failure [upon] the descent …”
The plane was without power and was unable to land. Where would it go?
Andrew decided to join the lunchtime traffic throng on Riverside County's 91 Freeway. The shrewd flier steered himself and a fellow passenger towards the middle lanes of Lincoln Avenue, eastbound.
In the meantime, driver Armando Ramirez was on his way to Santa Ana to visit family.
Andrew was able to negotiate his way through the speeding cars and got himself enough space -more or less.
The plane he was flying clipped the back of Armando's truck.
The plane came down with a ball of fire that flew in all directions. The plane swerved and skidded. The aircraft swung to the right and then crossed the merging lane, which was coming from the nearby ramp. The plane struck the wall, which triggered another burst of flames.
Amazingly, the plane's couple escaped.
The pilot recounted the experience to the LA's Channel 5:
“It felt like a hard bump. It's difficult to describe. We were between four and five feet up in the air when the plane stopped completely and crashed to the ground.”
There was no serious injury for those on the aircraft or the nearby vehicles.
The action was captured on camera by a vehicle just ahead of the scene.
Inside Edition reports Armando may have had a damaged tail light. However, the possibility of nothing more serious happening is astonishing at best.
According to Andrew, it was the training that saved the day:
“Your training begins and you're doing the right thing. If you're not stressed out and don't get stressed, you'll have the best chance of success.”
According to KTLA, the lanes that lead to the east were shut for several hours as the accident was investigated and the wreckage was removed.
The Federal Aviation Association issued a statement that read:
An unidentified aircraft was spotted landing on the eastern side of 91 Freeway close to Interstate 15 in Corona, Calif. It was reported to have landed about 12:30. Two passengers were aboard. The FAA will look into the incident. The FAA does not have any information about those involved in air incidents or accidents.
Returning to Capt. Miller:
“[We're] very fortunate today that the traffic was light, and the pilot appears to have made some good landing navigation that avoided what could have been a very bad tragedy.”
You can say that again.
