Plane hit by 3 cars after Calif. freeway landing

[August 24, 2009]  SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities say a small airplane was struck by three vehicles just after it made an emergency landing on a California freeway.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the Piper PA-24 Comanche with two people on board was bound for Santa Barbara Airport Sunday when the pilot told air traffic controllers he had no fuel remaining and landed on the southbound side of U.S. Highway 101, about one mile northeast of the airport.

California Highway Patrol Officer James Richards says three cars were unable to avoid the plane and crashed into it. He says the occupants of the plane and the cars were not injured.

Richards says traffic briefly backed up for miles while crews shut down the freeway to remove the plane.

[Associated Press]

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