18-year-old makes emergency landing on Route 66 with family aboard, CA officials say

A young pilot made an emergency landing with his family onboard after his single-engine plane lost power in California, multiple news outlets reported.

Brock Peters, 18, was flying with his grandmother and two cousins from Apple Valley to Riverside Municipal Airport on Jan. 2 when his plane lost power, according to NBC Los Angeles.

He heard a “boom” sound coming from the engine right before it cut off, NBC said.

“I can hear my grandma crying in the back,” said Peters, who got his pilot’s license four months ago, according to CBS Los Angeles. “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.’”

Because of the Cajon Pass terrain, Peters wasn’t able to notify a nearby airport tower, according to CNN.

“I tried everything to restart the engine, nothing happened,” Peters said according to NBC Los Angeles. “Couldn’t get to any other airports. Couldn’t get to a field that was over there.”

The plane landed on Cajon Boulevard, also known as Route 66, according to KTLA. No one was injured.

Peters says training and instincts led to the safe emergency landing, according to KTLA.

The teen pilot told FOX 11 the plane was a rental and that “everything appeared to be good before takeoff.”

Peters told CBS Los Angeles that although he still needs to process what happened, he’ll be back in the cockpit in no time.

The mountain pass is about 65 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

This story was originally published January 3, 2023 at 4:35 PM with the headline "18-year-old makes emergency landing on Route 66 with family aboard, CA officials say."