CUPERTINO, Ca. (KCBS RADIO) – A small airplane made an emergency landing Monday morning resulting in minor injuries for a related motor vehicle crash in Cupertino.
Peterson Conway took off from his Carmel farm at 6 a.m. heading for Silicon Valley – his every-other-day commute.
He started having engine trouble and called in a mayday to the Palo Alto airport and considered landing in a football field.
“I then saw kids running out into the football field I was going to make and couldn’t make it,” Conway told KCBS Radio’s Matt Bigler.
Instead, he decided to try and land his carbon fiber plane on southbound Highway 85 against oncoming traffic.
After dodging overpasses and other obstacles, Conway was able to land safely onto the freeway. Unfortunately for those driving, it caused a traffic backup – leading to one pickup truck rear-ending another, rolling into a California Highway Patrol SUV.
Minor injuries were reported in that collision.
The FAA will determine if the pilot will face any penalties.