An 18-year-old pilot had to make an emergency landing after his plane's engine malfunctioned, The Guardian reported.
Brock Peters took his grandmother and two cousins on a short Monday morning flight as a holiday treat. He decided to take them across southern California. The 18-year-old received his pilot's license just four months earlier. Brock took his family cruising 5,500 ft in the air when suddenly the plane's engine failed. He heard a 'boom' from the engine and "immediately after that" he lost all his engine power.
While his rented aircraft began descending, his family panicked. His grandmother started crying and Peter had to tune out her voice to focus on landing safely. He saw fields but couldn't land there because of trees and rocks.
He remembered thinking, "If I land there, we're going to get serious injuries, and the plane is going to be completely destroyed."
He wanted to land on a quiet stretch of Route 66. He landed on the route by avoiding a hill and the curve road. Peter shared that two cars were approaching but they moved out of his way. He also miraculously managed to avert the net of wires on the highway.
"Honestly, I didn't see them. I think that was divine intervention, moving those wires away from me," he told The Guardian.
The 18-year-old pilot told CBS that he will take a few days to process the incident and then return to the cockpit. The teen wants to become an airline pilot.
