Teenager makes emergency landing near Cajon Pass
On Monday, a single-engine plane with four people on board made an emergency landing on the road.
It happened shortly before 10 a.m. when the Piper PA-28 landed on Cajon Boulevard in the San Bernardino National Forest, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Authorities said an 18-year-old was flying family members from Apple Valley Airport to Riverside Airport when he heard a "pop" and decided to make an emergency landing in a safe area.
"We're coming through the pass and I hear a boom and then I lose all my engine power," said pilot Brock Peters.
While he loves flying ever since grade school, Peters only obtained his license four months ago.
In dire straits, Peters mustered everything he could recall from his emergency landing training and focused on bringing the plane down safely — especially since his grandmother and two cousins were in the passenger seats.
"I can hear my grandma crying in the back," he said. "I'm like 'I've got to tune her out, focus on what I need to do and get this plane down safely and make sure everybody is OK.'"
Unable to notify a nearby airport tower because of the terrain, Peters called his mom to let her know. He made the decision to bring the plane down in the Cajon Pass on a small frontage road.
"From the air, the field right in front of me looks flat," the 18-year-old recalled. "But once you get lower, it's trees, rocks, everything — just going to tear the plane up."
His next best option, and probably the safest, was to land on the road.
"We're driving down here, down Route 66. I'm looking at all these wires and I'm thinking 'How did he land this?'" said father Shane Peters.
Peters' dad, mom and younger sister all met him along Route 66 as mechanics examined the plane that had been towed off the road. Peters shared that he's at Victor Valley Community college waiting to begin his Mormon mission. he said that his faith helped get him through what could have been catastrophic.
"I knew I was going to land it," Peters said. "I knew I was going to. But to not hit anything that's God's intervention right there."
The California Highway Patrol was on the scene assisting with traffic control.
Nobody was injured in the incident. The FAA and NTSB are investigating exactly why the plane had to make the emergency landing.
In the meantime, Peters said he's going to take a couple of days to absorb what happened. However, come next week, he said he'll be right back in the cockpit.
Tuesday morning, Peters spoke live to CBSLA.
