The California Highway Patrol early Monday responded to a report of a small airplane landing on Highway 85 in the South Bay.
At about 7 a.m., the single-engine plane landed in the southbound lanes of Highway 85 north of De Anza Boulevard near Cupertino, initially blocking at least three lanes, according to the CHP.
The CHP said the plane, which was occupied only by the pilot, may have been running low on fuel, but the final cause will be determined by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot identified himself as Peterson Conway and told NBC Bay Area he was flying from Carmel, where he lives, to Palo Alto. He also said he was unsure about the low fuel issue.
The FAA said the plane is a single-engine CubCrafters CC11 and it is investigating the incident.
“It was kind of surreal because I’ve never seen anything like that before,” said witness James Filice. “I noticed this plane was lower than any plane I’ve ever seen before, and I’m like ‘wow, what’s that guy doing?’ next thing I knew, I lost sight of it and then when I got up just about to Stevens Creek Boulevard I noticed the plane had landed.”
Local
The unusual scene brought dozens of curious neighbors to a nearby bridge to get a better look.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
“It’s unusual. You don’t get to see an airplane landing on a freeway very often,” said Alberto Boleda of Cupertino.
Just before 1 p.m. crews had removed the wings of the aircraft and had it on a tow truck.
No injuries were reported.
Bay City News contributed to this report.
