Plane Makes Emergency Landing Near Santa Maria
were shaken up but not injured after emergency crews responded to a small two-seat plane that had engine trouble and was to make an emergency landing on Highway 166 near the Twitchell Reservoir just east of Santa Maria.
The distress call came in at approximately 10:30 a.m Friday when the San Luis Obispo Airport control tower lost contact with the aircraft.
Tony Cipolla with the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office said a portion of Highway 166 was closed to allow the plane to land safely.
A California Highway Patrol officer told our newsroom the aircraft crash landed on private property in the area of Gifford Ranch Road south of Highway 166 with the two occupants suffering minor cuts.
“The plane flipped over upon landing,” stated a SLO Cal Fire spokesperson.
Cipolla added the two occupants of the plane, a man and a woman, did not need medical attention.
The incident brought out a multi-agency effort that included Santa Barbara County Fire, California Highway Patrol, and Los Padres National Forest crews, among other local agencies.
Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are on their way to the scene to assess the incident.
