AIRPLANE LANDS ON FREEWAY : MOTORISTS STEER CLEAR OF CRAFT ROLLING TO OFF-RAMP.Byline: Lisa Van Proyen Daily News Staff Writer A flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to fly aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor certificate vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate the knowledge and skill level of an made a safe emergency landing Thursday on the Antelope Valley Freeway The Antelope Valley Freeway is a freeway in Los Angeles and Kern counties in southern California. It is signed as California State Highway 14 along its length. It connects Greater Los Angeles to the rapidly developing Antelope Valley. after a small-engine plane he was flying apparently ran out of fuel. No injuries were reported in the ordeal, and neither the plane nor any other vehicle was damaged in the landing on the northbound freeway near Sand Canyon Road, officials said. ``Traffic was alert and watching out for falling planes,'' deadpanned Officer Andy Hernandez of the California Highway Patrol highway patrol n. A state law enforcement organization whose police officers patrol the public highways. in Newhall. Motorists drove safely as the pilot - Erik A. Stach, 35, of Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, , a flight instructor - used about a quarter-mile stretch of the two northbound freeway lanes as a makeshift landing strip. A portion of the freeway was closed for about 20 minutes until the 1978 Cessna 152 could be moved to a dirt divider between an off-ramp and the freeway, the CHP CHP Chapter CHP Combined Heat and Power CHP California Highway Patrol CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (Turkish: Republican People's Party) CHP Chemical Hygiene Plan (OSHA) CHP Community Health Plan reported. With another flight instructor as his passenger, Stach was headed from Needles to Van Nuys Airport Van Nuys Airport (IATA: VNY, ICAO: KVNY, FAA LID: VNY) is a public airport located in Van Nuys, California in the San Fernando Valley, within the Los Angeles city limits. when the plane started losing power. Authorities said Stach thinks the plane ran out of fuel, and he was pouring some into the plane on the freeway as officers directed traffic around the aircraft. ``I lost power. It's embarrassing. I didn't want to climb back up to Agua Dulce (Air Park),'' he said. There is a small landing strip at the rural air park, about 10 miles away from where Stach landed the plane. Traffic on the freeway was light and Stach is familiar with the area, Hernandez said. Local freeways have been emergency landing sites for two other planes within the past year, the California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is a government agency in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems in California. said. There also were no injuries in those landings, said Charles Payne, a maintenance supervisor for Caltrans in Santa Clarita. ``It seems to be getting more common,'' Payne said. ``You see a wide open road, and that's better than landing in a riverbed or wherever.'' The Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control was investigating the incident Thursday. FAA officials would not immediately comment about whether the pilot would be cited or fined. The plane was pushed off the freeway to be partially disassembled and trucked away, officials said. CAPTION(S): 3 Photos Photo: (1--AV edition only) Erik Stach of Santa Clarita puts fuel into the plane he landed Thursday on the Antelope Valley Freeway. (2--AV edition only) Authorities keep an eye on a plane that was forced to land Thursday on the Antelope Valley Freeway. (3--SAC edition only--Color) Erik Stach of Santa Clarita puts fuel into the plane he landed Thursday at the Sand Canyon Road off-ramp. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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