It’s a scene like in a movie: An 18-year-old pilot had to make an emergency landing in southern California – on the famous Route 66 of all places. As several local media reports, Brock Peters had only passed his pilot’s license four months ago. On Jan. 2, he invited his grandmother and two cousins on a scenic flight in a Piper PA-28 sport plane, but it nearly ended in death.
The family members had actually planned to fly from Apple Valley to Riverside. But suddenly there was a loud bang over the Cajon Pass, northeast of Los Angeles. The engine failed immediately afterwards – at an altitude of almost 1700 meters. Attempts to restart the machine failed, and the aircraft quickly lost altitude.
Peters’ grandmother panicked and started screaming and crying. The 18-year-old pilot is different: “I tried to hide it and only concentrated on the plane,” he explained in an interview with the local broadcaster “KCAL News”. “It was just the machine and me. It was all about getting us all down safely.”
Because the engine would not restart, Peters considered an emergency landing – like he had learned in flight school. But in the dusty desert of California it wasn’t that easy to find a suitable place. He saw fields under the machine, but because he comes from the region, he knew that landing there would be too dangerous: “There are rocks and trees everywhere,” he explained.
Then his eyes fell on a quiet section of America’s most famous highway, Route 66 – his chance. But the road was anything but a relaxed runway. Ahead lay a hill, ahead of it a curve. He had to pass both of them in order to land the plane safely.
As he prepared to land, he saw a car approaching him, which fortunately recognized the situation and pulled to the side of the road to give the plane more space. What Peters didn’t see, however, were power poles that weren’t just set up next to the roadway. The lines also crossed the street every few hundred yards.
Miraculously, he missed and actually brought the plane to a halt on the highway. “It was just as soft a landing as usual,” said Peters. He later said, “I didn’t see them [the power lines]. I believe it was divine intervention to keep those lines away from me.”
As the 18-year-old explained, he practically didn’t speak to his passengers at all during the emergency situation. He just said they had to land. His two cousins, both in their 30s, and his 77-year-old grandmother were in shock but unharmed. The FAA later confirmed this.
After the plane came to a standstill, Peters called 911. A fire truck came to tow the plane off the runway. Now to investigate why the plane’s engine failed.
“We still can’t believe this even happened. It’s still terrifying,” said Peters. Many forced landings “are deadly,” he added. “And now I can understand why.”
The undoubtedly negative experience should not deter Peters from his dream of becoming a commercial pilot, he emphasized: “I got so many messages: ‘Good work’, ‘Great landing’,” some wrote to him that he really has the aviation community inspired.
With a smirk, he added, “It was good practice for me.” When asked if he had any tips for pilots who find themselves in a similar situation, he said, “Keep calm, remember your training and trust in God.”
Quellen:KCAL News, The Guardian, People.com
