A small plane landed on Interstate 15 south of Tierrasanta during rush hour traffic Monday afternoon, authorities said.
The pilot was able to land the plane “gently on its wheels” and made no contact with any vehicles on the freeway, according to California Highway Patrol logs. Video from NBC San Diego showed the plane in the wide center divide between northbound and southbound lanes.
Motorists started calling just after 4:45 p.m. to report the plane had landed on the freeway north of Aero Drive. Callers said they believed the pilot was the only person on board.
San Diego police said they were told the plane landed on the left shoulder of I-15. A caller told a dispatcher, “It did not crash, it landed smoothly,” according to Officer John Buttle. He said the CHP issued a traffic alert shortly after the emergency landing.
A San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson said crews responded and “found that the plane had landed safely” and no one was injured.
This is the third time in recent weeks that pilots landed planes on San Diego County roads. No vehicles have been hit by any of the aircraft.
Last week, a Cessna 182 Skylane crashed just west of Fallbrook, in the Los Jilgueros Preserve. Officials shut down a stretch of South Mission Road as the crash was investigated.
In August, a single-engine Piper PA-28 crash landed on southbound Interstate 805 in Sorrento Valley after the pilot noticed the engine was sputtering and the plane was losing power. The plane hit a freeway sign post and came to rest against the center divide.
Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.