A pilot was able to walk away safely from a plane which made an emergency landing on Highway 101 in Agoura Hills, and burned, but the incident turned the Tuesday afternoon and evening commute into a huge mess.
The pilot of the World War II vintage plane told the CHP he had engine trouble just before two Tuesday afternoon.
He was able to avoid traffic, and land on the westbound 101 near Liberty Canyon. The plane’s wing clipped the center divider. The pilot was able to get out of the aircraft safely, but the single engine plane caught on fire and was destroyed. No one on the ground was hurt.
The aircraft was a 1940’s era T-6 trainer, flying out of Van Nuys Airport It closed the 101 in both directions between Agoura Hills and Calabasas for nearly three hours. The wreckage couldn’t be removed until federal investigators surveyed the scene.
Just before 5 p.m., some lanes were reopened both eastbound and westbound, but the delay to get through the area was reported to be an hour. Alternate routes like Highway 23, and 118 were jammed as well.
