Pilot John Schneider, 67, of Susanville, proudly displays the emergency checklist that helped him bring his crippled plane to a successful emergency landing on Highway 70 at about 8 a.m. today.
(E-R photo/Ty Barbour)
Butte County Sheriff deputies help to move the light plane that landed on Highway 70 at about 8 a.m. today so it wouldn't pose a traffic hazard. John Schneider, 67, of Susanville, the pilot and lone occupant of the Cherokee 180, landed the aircraft without incident.
(E-R Photo/Ty Barbour)
John Schneider stands near his airplane minutes after making an emergency landing on Highway 70, about 10 miles east of Oroville, on Thursday morning.
Photo submitted.
http://registry.faa.gov/N9554J
OROVILLE —A cool-thinking 67-year-old pilot from Susanville successfully guided his crippled plane to an emergency landing on Highway 70 at about 8:30 a.m. today. According to Enterprise-Record photographer Ty Barbour, John Schneider was alone in his Cherokee 180 single-engine plane on his way from Susanville to Oroville to visit an aunt.
Somewhere over Quincy he suffered engine trouble. Schneider told Barbour the Quincy airport was heavily fogged-in and there was no chance of landing there.
He said he immediately began trying to gain altitude and about the time he reached 10,000 feet the engine entirely died.
From then on he was flying a glider continuing in the direction of Oroville.
At one point he reportedly considering trying to land on the Highway 70 bridge over Lake Oroville, but he decided he had enough altitude to continue a little further.
He got to a point where he could see well down Highway 70. He told Barbour when he could see the highway was clear he brought the plane down on the highway in the vicinity of Cherokee Road.
He came through the emergency unscathed.
The plane has been moved from where it landed to a turnout about 200 yards away so the highway is clear.
Schneider said if there had been traffic on 70 he had an alternative plan to land in an adjacent field.
Authorities are currently making plans to remove the plane from the roadside.
Story, Photos, Reaction/Comments: http://www.chicoer.com
The pilot of a small single-engine airplane made a successful emergency landing on Highway 70 after his engine quit Thursday morning, Jan. 17.
John Schneider, 67, of Janesville, was flying from Susanville to Oroville when his Piper Cherokee 180 began to sputter over Quincy about 7:40 a.m.
Schneider, who immediately called Susanville Municipal Airport Manager Steve Datema with his cell phone to report the problem, said he couldn’t land at the Quincy airport because of fog.
According to Datema and the California Highway Patrol, Schneider glided the stalled plane down the Feather River Canyon, looking for a place to make an emergency landing.
“As you probably know, there aren’t a lot of landing spots in the canyon,” CHP Public Information Officer Doug Garret said. “He did a great job, especially under the circumstances he had to deal with. He didn’t panic.”
Schneider, who is considered a very experienced pilot, has more than 1,500 hours of flying time and is commercially rated.
About six minutes after experiencing complete engine failure, Schneider landed the four-seated plane on Highway 70, a few hundred yards east of Cherokee Road. The landing was about 10 miles east of Oroville in Butte County.
Garret said Schneider was able to avoid cars on the road and landed the plane at about 70 miles per hour.
“It only took a few seconds after he touched down to get the plane off to the side of the road,” Garret said. “He did it in less than 300 yards. It was a pretty impressive piece of flying.”
Schneider was the only person in the plane. There were no traffic injuries or accidents at the scene of the landing.
Story and Photo: http://www.plumasnews.com
It was an emergency with fatal implications. John Schneider took to the skies en route to Oroville from Susanville Thursday morning, just like he had several times before, but this time was different. "I thought I bought the farm," according to Schneider. "There's not much you can do. Your training just kicks in, and it was just glide, go through the emergency procedures."
Schneider weighed his options, looking for a place to land, but Quincy was fogged in, and the Chester Airport was too far. "I thought, well, I'll climb as far as I can, as long as the engine is running. So, I got up to 10,000 before it quit."
With gliding as his only option, Schneider did everything in his power to keep his Piper Cherokee 180 in the sky, before he finally spotted a possible landing area. "I saw the bridge, and I thought, well, looks like the highway is about the only spot. Hope there isn't any truck, or car."
Highway 70 was free of cars, and Schneider was able to land safely. Meanwhile, Johns Uncle, Jim Christie, was waiting for him in Oroville, unaware of the climactic highway landing. "I was down at the airport waiting for him, and I didn't bring my cell phone. So, finally I called my wife, and said have you heard from John? And she said, yeah, he's landed on Highway 70, by Pentz Road."
Jim, and John both credit John's 30 years of experience for the successful landing. John told our crews "it matters a lot. I've got about 2300 hours, and I fly fire recon, so I do a lot of low level flying." But John admits the conditions were perfect for the landing with light winds, and no cars on the road. Which reminded him of a guardian angel figurine, given to him by his Aunt Irm, who told him the trinket would keep him safe as long as it was with him. Either way, the 67 year old pilot says he plans to capitalize on his apparent lucky streak. "I'm gonna go buy a lottery ticket."
Story and Video: http://www.khsltv.com
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