Hollister
– An unidentified pilot made an emergency landing at Hollister
Municipal Airport on Monday morning after losing power to his
engine.
Hollister – An unidentified pilot made an emergency landing at Hollister Municipal Airport on Monday morning after losing power to his engine.
Captain Michael O’Connor of the Hollister Fire Department said the plane, a Cessna 150, belonged to a flight school in Livermore. The pilot, who flew out of Livermore alone, was trying to add hours to his license – a necessity for pilots hoping to fly commercial airplanes – when his engine shut down over the Gabilan Mountains, O’Connor said.
Initially, the engine failed to restart, but the pilot managed to get it running again, and he flew to Hollister, the nearest airport, O’Connor said.
“Hollister fire and police responded, but when we got to the airport, we found him on the ground,” he said. “He’d already taxied in. … He seemed pretty nervous.”
O’Connor said both departments left the scene shortly after speaking to the pilot. Despite the engine trouble, the pilot was uninjured and his plane undamaged.
“He landed on his wheels,” O’Connor said.
Neither the fire nor the police department obtained the pilot’s name.
On Monday afternoon, the pilot was still waiting at the airport for the arrival of a mechanic from his flight school, but he declined to speak with the Free Lance.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or ah*@fr***********.com.
