'It literally landed on top of our car!': Couple reveal horror as single engine plane clips dozens of cars as it makes emergency landing on Interstate 5 north of San Diego
A couple have revealed the terrifying moment that a single engine plane used their car to break its fall while performing an emergency landing on a freeway north of San Diego.
The single-engine Piper PA-32 had mechanical problems after taking off from Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and was trying to land in a nearby field but instead went down in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 shortly after noon, authorities said.
It clipped several cars and came to rest partially on the center divider.
Dane and Sarah Tribett of Austin, Texas, were in town to celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary when their Kia sedan was hit by the plane, although they escaped serious injuries.
The single-engine Piper PA-32 had mechanical problems after taking off from Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and was trying to land in a nearby field but instead went down in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 shortly after noon, authorities said
'Glass shattered everywhere. All of a sudden we just see the plane in front of us,' Sarah Tribett told KSWB-TV. 'We were scared out of our minds.'
'The people that were driving behind us drove by us after and let us know that it literally landed on top of our car.
'There's jet fuel all over the back of our back seat. All of my clothes are soaked and there's just glass everywhere.'
California Highway Patrol said that two people in the cars were taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, including slight cuts from broken glass.
Dane and Sarah Tribett of Austin, Texas, were in town to celebrate their eighth wedding anniversary when their Kia sedan was hit by the plane, which used their car to break its fall before coming to a stop in the middle of the freeway
They added that the two people aboard the plane appeared to be unhurt.
Part of the plane's right wing broke off and became lodged in the back of an Audi SUV.
The freeway was shut down for more than four hours until a small fuel spill was cleaned up and the plane was hauled away.
At 4.30pm local time it was reported by NBC San Diego that the aircraft was lifted onto a flat-bed truck by a crane, to be transported from the freeway.