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‘Incredible’: Airplane Forced to Make Emergency Landing on Busy CA Highway

Nov. 15, 2012 7:09am Billy Hallowell

ROCKLIN, Calif. (TheBlaze/AP) — Talk about terrifying: A small plane was forced to make an emergency landing in traffic on a highway median in the Sacramento area.

The California Highway Patrol says the aircraft landed safely Wednesday morning on a grassy center divide of Highway 65 near Rocklin as cars whizzed by. No injuries were reported.

Pilot John Mares says he was testing a new engine on the Beech BE35-33A when it lost power at about 3,500 feet, leaving him with no choice but to find a place to land. The incident happened around 10:30 a.m., according to patrol officer Nico Bonfilio.

“A gentlemen was flying the airplane when he experienced a complete mechanical failure,” Bonfilio said. “The primary reason for the failure was a fuel pump.”

Naturally, everyone was happy that the plane didn’t collide with any cars and that there were no injuries.

“Props to him for not hitting any cars when he was landing. He was able to land it safely considering the circumstances. Incredible,” Bonfilio continued.

Airplane Forced to Make Emergency Landing on CA Highway | John Mares

John Mares of Redondo Beach, left, stands next to his Beech BE35-33A airplane after landing it on northbound highway 65 near the Sunset exit in Rocklin, Calif. after having engine trouble, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012. Mares says he was testing a new engine on the plane when it lost power at about 3,500 feet, leaving him with no choice but to find a place to land. Credit: AP

A mechanic was on scene to see if the fuel pump failed. The highway remained open although traffic slowed down to see the plane.

The FAA says an inspector was also there to investigate. The CHP will close the northbound lane if the plane is cleared to take off.

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Comments (14)

1HonestInjun
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 7:58pm
Yes, Mflboy, some people can argue with anything. :Now comes the expert challenging me. I didn’t say the pilot should spend the next year in the airport pattern. When we finished an overhaul or finished building a homebuilt plane we always stayed in the pattern for awhile and got the temperature up to normal. Then landed and checked out the engine for leaks, etc. By varying the engine speed one doesn’t build up a top or bottom sharp ridge on the pistons. It’s the same principle as not using the cruise control on a new car for the first 500 hours, but that really isn’t that important anymore with new technology. Of the five airplanes I owned, they all made TBO without any engine problems. And to think I was doing it all wrong.

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1HonestInjun
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 9:21am
Perhaps the pilot should have stayed in the landing pattern while checking out a new engine.
He could have done touch-and-go testing that would have given him different power settings in
checking out the engine, and still be able to reach the runway in case of an emergency.
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- MKFlyboy
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 10:34am
  I agree completely. Locally, a small plane ended up crash-landing in a field behind a high school because his newly installed, $30,000 “factory certified rebuilt engine” blew itself apart on its first flight. Like this pilot, he was lucky enough to walk away.
  
  In addition, aircraft such as this are equipped with redundant fuel pumps. One is mechanically driven by the engine, the other is a backup electric fuel pump. Any pre-takeoff checklist would require the pilot to verify that both are working normally, or you do not take off. I don’t want to unfairly judge what happened here, but there are certainly a few questions.
  
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- ObamaTheCommunist
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 12:21pm
  MKFlyboy more often then not on smaller planes you have no indication on weather the fuel pump is working other than the prop is turning. On all the small planes I flew the checklist amouted to Fuel Pump: ON
  
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- MKFlyboy
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 1:40pm
  Some people can argue with anything. OK, OTC, I have about 2400 hours in approximately 12 models of small planes, single and multiengine, Beechcraft, Piper, Grumman and Cessna, and every engine is equipped with something called a fuel pressure gauge. Before starting, you listen for the electric pump which is quite audible. During a pre-takeoff runup, you test the engine with the electric pump off while observing the fuel pressure gauge, which confirms that the mechanical pump is working. In addition, the electrical pump will also give some indication of a draw on an ammeter and also has a separate circuit breaker that should be visibly checked. This is all basic stuff to pilots who like to come back in one piece.
  
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- rosevillian
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 6:06pm
  LOL at the “arm chair” pilot. How many engines have you broken in by making touch and goes?
  That’s a definite no-no. (http://www.avweb.com/news/maint/184932-1.html)
  
  As far as orbiting the field, it says in other accounts that the home base was Rio Linda, which sits under the 1,600 foot floor of the SMF Class Charlie…probably not a good idea to be orbiting at 3,500 in that area next to a busy international airport. And a 180* return to base on an engine failure? That will cost you 1,000 feet right there. Just be glad you weren’t in that guy’s shoes and thank goodness there was no damage or injury.
  
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americansfightingforcommonsense
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:52am
Great Job there pilot. I have often wondered what I would do in that case. Hope never to have to make an emergency landing at all, but if it happens I hope my luck is as good as his. Very Cool.

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- G-WHIZ
  Posted on November 16, 2012 at 11:13am
  should get at least a free-new-engine sinced the “Rebuilt” engine was GUARRANTEED!! An engine does not “blowup” with no fuel-pressure. The oil pump is phydically run by the engine as long as the crankshaft is spinning. NO-gas? NO-rpm. Plane goes down. Doesn’t matter how many miles the engine has or how old.
  
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PorkPIG
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 7:41am
Thats pretty kool , but I bet he stills gets a summons in the mail for one reason or another .

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- Obama Snake Oil Co
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:15am
  Probably give him a ticket for exceeding a safe speed…..
  
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- Zipit
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 8:51am
  Yep! I agree.. The idiots will find something to charge this guy with!!! It’ll cost him one way or another!
  
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- Silvertruth
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 10:41am
  Calfornia State will bill for any damage repairs that need to be made. They can opt to bill for the CHP time to clear the plane and the freeway for the subsequent take off. Those laws were passed about a decade ago. The guys insurance would cover those costs so the odds of a bill are high. Hope he has a small deductable.
  
  Good piloting, but yeah, I’d have found a safer area to test at. Nice plane. He can now chalk up a rare event for pilots, landing on a traffic filled road and even rarer- being allowed to take off again from the thoroughfare.
  
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- Coded-Dude
  Posted on November 15, 2012 at 12:30pm
  In Roseville/Rocklin you have no idea how true that is. lol The police here really have nothing to do but hand out traffic citations.
  
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truthsurfer
Posted on November 15, 2012 at 7:29am
To bad it didnt take out a few hundred liberals

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