SANTEE — A small homemade plane made an emergency landing on state Route 67 in Santee Saturday, California Highway Patrol officials said. No one was injured.
A highway patrol officer making a traffic stop noticed the Europa plane flying low and attempting to land on the northbound side of the road near the Woodside Avenue exit. The officer initiated a traffic break on the freeway and the plane safely landed and came to a stop at the Riverford Road off-ramp about 10 a.m., said CHP Officer Brian Pennings.
Pennings said the pilot reported power issues after taking off from Gillespie Field and was attempting to return to the airfield when the plane's engine locked up.
"Fortunately the officer was in the perfect position," Pennings said. "Both the pilot and officer did outstanding."
The pilot, 79-year-old El Cajon resident Wayne Oehler, told officers he began building the plane in 2000. He said he finished it in 2009 and has flown it for the last few years.
Pennings said the plane was on the northbound off-ramp at Riverford as of 11 a.m., but was expected to be towed away shortly. The off-ramp was closed but freeway lanes remained open, he said.
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SANTEE, Calif. -- Authorities say no one was injured after a small plane made an emergency landing on a freeway in San Diego County.
The California Highway Patrol said one of its officers was making a traffic stop Saturday morning and noticed the homemade plane attempting to land on state route 67 in Santee.
The officer initiated a traffic break to clear the road for the plane to land. CHP Officer Brian Pennings said the pilot reported having engine problems shortly after taking off from Gillespie Field near El Cajon. He told CHP officers that he was trying to turn back to the airfield when the engine locked up.
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http://registry.faa.gov/N951EU
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