An experienced pilot landed a small Beechcraft G33 Bonanza plane with registration ‘N9337Q’ on the 55 Freeway in Costa Mesa on Sunday evening after the aircraft’s engine failed, authorities said. The pilot and his friends were heading to Van Nuys from San Diego when they faced the engine problem a mile or two off the coast.
“I saw an opening on the highway and I went for it right away,” said the pilot Izzy Slod. When the engine failed, he told the station that either he could fly to John Wayne Airport or land on the beach but due to strong wind that decreased the airspeed, he had to take the chance of landing on a freeway pass.
The plane didn’t hit any cars or cause any collisions on the roadway as the traffic was light at the time and the pilot decided to land the Beech G33.
Authorities closed three northbound freeway lanes and Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.
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