Plane makes emergency landing at Central Coast vineyard
No injuries were reported Saturday after a small plane made an emergency landing in a vineyard adjacent to the Santa Ynez Airport.
Santa Barbara County firefighters responded to the incident at approximately 10:15 a.m., fire Capt. Scott Safechuck said.
The single-engine, four-seat 1974 Maule M4 had engine trouble shortly after takeoff from the airport, so the pilot glided toward the runway but ended up coming down in the nearby Sanja Cota Vineyard, Safechuck said.
Only the pilot was on board the aircraft, and he was not hurt.
The pilot reportedly was practicing touch-and-go landings when the engine quit.
No fuel leaks occurred after the emergency landing, Safechuck said.
Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.co m.
