Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Seal Beach

SEAL BEACH, CA Disaster was averted Tuesday morning when a small plane made an emergency landing next to the busiest stretch of freeway in the world.

Just before 9 a.m., a small cessna 400 made an emergency landing on the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station, said Gregg Smith, Public Affairs Officer for the base. A man and woman on board escaped without injury.

“The pilot suffered an engine failure,” explained Smith. “Fortunately, there was no fire, no injuries, no fuel spill.”

Luckily, the pilot was able to safely navigate an area with very crowded airspace and a dense landscape bordered by the freeway and residential neighborhoods.

The plane landed in a field on the south side of the base about 300 yards south of Westminster Boulevard. The pilot managed to navigate the plane into open space between bunkers housing the missiles that arm Navy warships.

“We had our law enforcement and fire personnel responded to scene immediately,” Smith said.

The couple had been heading from Montgomery Field in San Diego County to Long Beach airport, said Smith. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, he added.

It’s not the first time, an aircraft has been forced to land on the base. Within the last decade, a helicopter crash landed on the weapons station, said Smith.

Photo Credit: Gregg Smith, Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach Public Affairs Officer