Teen emergency lands plane carrying his family: ‘My grandma was crying’
The young pilot had to navigate under powerlines in order to safely land the plane
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Your support makes all the difference.Brock Peters, 18, was flying his family to breakfast in California when he had to put his blossoming skills as a pilot to the ultimate test.
Mr Peters was piloting a single-engine plane over a mountain pass on Monday morning when he heard a concerning noise from the engine, according to KTLA.
The teen told CBS Los Angeles on Tuesday that he and his family were "coming through the pass and I hear a ‘boom’ and then I lose all my engine power."
Without power to the engines, he knew the safest thing for him to do would be to make an emergency landing.
He told the broadcaster that he could hear his grandmother crying from the back of the plane, but knew he’d have to focus to ensure their safety.
"I can hear my grandma crying in the back. 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,’" he said.
He spotted a stretch of road long enough and empty enough to accommodate a landing, but before he could bring the plane down he first had to navigate under a stretch of powerlines, according to People.
Mr Peters eventually managed to bring the plane down safely on El Cajon Boulevard — a part of Historic Route 66 — just before 10am local time, according to the Federal Aviation Association.
According to People, four individuals, including Mr Peters, were on the plane at the time of the emergency landing. There were no injuries.
Mr Peters’ landing was all the more impressive considering he only obtained his license four months ago. He told CBS Los Angeles that he "knew" he was going to make the landing.
"But to not hit anything, that’s God’s intervention right there," he told the broadcaster, later adding that he was "just glad it ended the way it did."
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the emergency landing.
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