Cars strike plane after emergency landing

(NECN/KEYT: Santa Barbara, Calif.) – Federal Aviation Administration authorities said a small airplane was struck by three vehicles just after it made an emergency landing on a California freeway. According to spokesman Ian Gregor, 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 said three cars were unable to avoid the plane and crashed into it. One man in one of the cars suffered minor injuries, was treated, and released from an area hospital. The pilot and his wife are both fine. Richards said traffic briefly backed up for miles while crews shut down the freeway to remove the plane. Material courtesy of KEYT.