http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/mar/22/plane-land-125-otay-freeway/
Pilot glides to safe landing on SR-125 in Chula Vista
By Pauline Repard and Debbi Baker11:19 a.m.March 22, 2013
A pilot who landed a Cessna 150 on SR-125 Friday and had it towed to Brown Field finds it won't fit through one gate. A pilot who landed a Cessna 150 on SR-125 Friday and had it towed to Brown Field finds it won't fit through one gate. — Debbi Baker
CHULA VISTA — An experienced pilot brought a borrowed airplane to a smooth landing on state Route 125 in Chula Vista Friday morning after the engine stopped.
Jim Truitt of San Diego said there were no cars on the toll road north of the Otay River bridge when he guided the single-engine Cessna 150 onto the pavement about 11 a.m.
He was returning from a business trip to Ensenada, heading for Brown Field in Otay Mesa and flying through the clouds when the plane engine began to sputter, he said.
“The engine finally stopped,” Truitt told reporters.
Knowing he couldn’t reach the landing strip, he radioed the airport, declared an emergency and aimed for the highway, he said. He landed in northbound lanes and stopped on the shoulder. He was not injured.
photo The Cessna was towed behind a pickup down SR-125 to Otay Mesa Road after an emergency freeway landing. — Debbi Baker
Officials at Brown Field notified emergency personnel. Firefighters responded to the scene, but were not needed, a San Diego Fire-Rescue Department dispatcher said.
Truitt said he has been a pilot since 1976 with more than 3,000 hours in the air and “this is the first time I’ve ever landed on a highway.”
He said he believes the carburetor iced up.
FAA records show that the Cessna is owned by John H. Renquist of Valley Center, a commercial pilot, mechanic, flight instructor and experimental-aircraft builder.
The southern end of Route 125 to the Mexican border is a toll road and is typically lightly used.
The white plane with blue stripes was hitched to a pickup about 11:45 a.m. and towed slowly south on the freeway in a caravan including the California Highway Patrol, a Cal Trans sign truck, media vehicles and a dozen motorists. The plane was taken to Brown Field for inspection.
The Federal Aviation Administration was notified about the emergency landing.