Small plane lands on Cupertino freeway

CUPERTINO, Calif. - Drivers on State Route 85 in Cupertino got a big surprise on Monday morning when a small plane made an emergency landing on the freeway.

The freeway remained closed for over six hours, reopening shortly after 1 p.m.

Pilot Peterson Conway told KTVU that he was flying from Carmel to Palo Alto when his plane came down on SR 85 south of Stevens Creek Boulevard just after 7 a.m. 

Conway's exchange with the control tower at the Palo Alto Airport was recorded by LiveATC.net.

A tower controller instructed Conway, "Charlie, Charlie one-niner, make straight-in runway 31 cleared to land."

Conway replied, "Negative, can’t make the field. Just see if you can pick me up. I am going to have to go down over what looks like 280 somewhere."

Earlier, Conway had asked that the controller send a unique code to pinpoint his exact location on the radar to help with landing options.

The air traffic controller then asked Conway about other options.

"Are you able to make a right turn toward San Jose?" the controller asked.

"Negative, I am going to have to go down over the freeway. I am still running right now, but I know I am out of fuel," Conway replied.

Conway, who was still at the scene of the emergency landing later in the morning, told KTVU that the cause of the engine issue was unclear, contrary to early reports that he was out of fuel. He said that the aircraft's propeller was not functioning during the freeway landing.

Brooks Jarosz, a spokesman for the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, said the pilot ran out of gas.

CHP Officer Ross Lee said no one was injured during the emergency landing and the pilot was able to maneuver the 14-foot plane to the shoulder of the southbound lanes.

However, two pickup truck drivers crashed while passing by the scene.

The driver of one of the trucks said he was looking at all the commotion when he rear-ended a tan truck. Someone in that truck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

"There may be the impulse to take a picture or look or try to share this information," Lee said. "But any time you do that, you’re taking your eyes off of the road and your mind off of driving."

Conway’s wife and his mother arrived at the scene to pick him up after the plane was towed.

"You know this morning when he took off I told him ‘stay safe, stay safe’ twice," said the pilot's wife, Kelsey Conway. "I am just so happy he survived."

She was also thankful that nobody on the ground was injured.

The pilot was the only person aboard the single-engine CubCrafters CC11, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.