An unidentified pilot was forced to make an emergency landing on a California highway last Saturday, to the surprise of the cars behind it. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the single-engine Cessna was on its way from Lake Tahoe to Hayward Executive Airport when the engine started to fail, forcing them to find the safest spot to land - which ended up being Interstate 580 in San Leandro.
Eric and Brandi Geer was driving on the freeway, located about 20 miles east of San Francisco, when he spotted the plane flying low overhead. The couple, who filmed the incident on their dashcam, said it seemed that the pilot had waited for a gap in traffic, then dropped it down near the 164th street exit.
“He was able to hold that plane up until all the cars got out of the way and then he landed it and he immediately went to the side,” said Brandi Geers.
“It was fear at first and then adrenaline kicks in,” said Eric Greer. “So I was trying to like, ‘Hey! Listen up!’ So I was swerving around on the freeway.”
His landing was caught on film by the couple, and they have shared the footage with the media, with it now making its rounds on social media. You can see the dramatic footage in the tweet below:
As soon as they could, Eric and Brandi called 911. The California Highway Patrol confirmed that they put out the alert to officers at around 6:45 that evening, and the landing later forced the closure of two lanes.
Fortunately, both passengers were found to be okay, and the plane and other vehicles weren't damaged in the landing.
