Plane lands on 101, gridlock ensues

Pilot, motorists uninjured, but traffic stalls for hours



DOWN FOR THE COUNT—Afireball erupts as the plane comes to a halt in the northbound lane of the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon Road in Agoura Hills Tuesday afternoon. Lanes in both directions were shut down for hours and side streets were jammed. Courtesy of Jen Buzza

DOWN FOR THE COUNT—Afireball erupts as the plane comes to a halt in the northbound lane of the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon Road in Agoura Hills Tuesday afternoon. Lanes in both directions were shut down for hours and side streets were jammed. Courtesy of Jen Buzza

Tuesday was an absolute nightmare for motorists up and down the Conejo and Simi Valley regions, but for Rob Sandberg, the 42-year-old pilot who put his airplane down safely in the middle of a busy 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, it might have just been the luckiest day of his life.

Sandberg, a Camarillo resident and longtime pilot, landed his small training aircraft on the northbound lane of the 101 Freeway at Liberty Canyon Road at about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday after encountering engine trouble

A large plume of black smoke rose quickly from the crash site.

Sandberg, a professional commercial pilot, survived the ordeal with only singed hair. He was in the aircraft by himself.

With German war insignia on both wings, the plane appeared to be a vintage World War II aircraft, but it was a T-6 Texan, a single-engine airplane used to train pilots in the U.S. Air Force from the 1940s to the 1970s.

It’s part of the Condor Squadron, a nonprofit organization based out of Van Nuys Airport that flies over parades and memorial services,

AFTERMATH— Once the fire was knocked down— and as the freeway remained closed—emergency workers prepare wreckage for removal. Traffic was brought to a halt for three hours. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

AFTERMATH— Once the fire was knocked down— and as the freeway remained closed—emergency workers prepare wreckage for removal. Traffic was brought to a halt for three hours. RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

Capt. Johnny Starling of the California Highway Patrol said the aircraft flew out of the Van Nuys Airport and suffered mechanical trouble shortly after taking off.

“The plan was to do a circle around the Warner Center and then touch down again at Van Nuys (Airport). About eight or nine minutes into the flight he heard two loud bangs, the engine went dead and he lost power,” Starling said.

“(The pilot) was able to maintain control of the aircraft and landed on the freeway. As he landed, there was one car in front of him, and to avoid it he swerved to the left, hit the center divider and (the plane) burst into flames.”

Starling praised the pilot for avoiding any injury to himself or motorists cruising by as rush-hour traffic began to build.

“When I first walked up to the scene, knowing he just climbed out of a burning aircraft, I was surprised to see him just calmly standing on the side of the road going through his phone,” Starling said. “He said he was fine. It was as if he’d had a flat tire on his car and was waiting for AAA to show up.”

DOUBLE JEOPARDY—Just minutes after a vintage airplane made an emergency landing on the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills Oct. 23, a pool-chemical spill blocked traffic on the westbound side of the 118 Freeway near Kuehner Drive. Three vehicles were involved in the incident, which occurred at about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday. Lane closures lasted several hours as authorities worked to remove obstacles and clean up the accident site, said California Highway Patrol Officer Marco Marin. Blockages on the 101 and 118 created a traffic nightmare for commuters through the Conejo, Simi and San Fernando valleys. Courtesy of California Highway Patrol

DOUBLE JEOPARDY—Just minutes after a vintage airplane made an emergency landing on the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills Oct. 23, a pool-chemical spill blocked traffic on the westbound side of the 118 Freeway near Kuehner Drive. Three vehicles were involved in the incident, which occurred at about 2:15 p.m. Tuesday. Lane closures lasted several hours as authorities worked to remove obstacles and clean up the accident site, said California Highway Patrol Officer Marco Marin. Blockages on the 101 and 118 created a traffic nightmare for commuters through the Conejo, Simi and San Fernando valleys. Courtesy of California Highway Patrol

Agoura Hills resident Jennifer Buzza was driving southbound on the 101 Freeway and was one of the first people on the scene of the crash.

“All I really comprehended was the (plane’s) last bounce and then it hitting the middle divider. I pulled over and started running to the plane,” Buzza said. “The pilot was out of the plane and a truck driver on the northbound side was getting out of his truck with a fire extinguisher. (When we learned) there was nobody else on the plane, we backed off and said, ‘OK, let’s keep cars away.’”

Buzza is a member of the Agoura Hills Community Emergency Response Team, and said her training helped her keep calm and respond to the situation.

“It was unbelievable. First, it’s an old warplane, so you’re already confused. Next, there’s an airplane on the freeway crashing and burning in front of you. It doesn’t compute in your head,” Buzza said. “My first response was, ‘You need to get out of here.’ Then I went, ‘Nope, calm down, get over there, make sure people are (safe), because somebody could be in there right now.’”

The crash shut down the 101 Freeway for several hours while emergency responders dealt with the situation.

Fire crews extinguished the flaming aircraft, but the road remained blocked through the evening as investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration gathered all the evidence they needed from the scene.