CORONA: The pilot, 83, says an oil line pulled loose in his self-built Lancair 320 aircraft.

12/31/2002

By STEFANIE FRITH
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

When Ken Nicholson crashed his home-made plane Monday morning on Interstate 15 in Corona, it must have looked like a movie stunt.

When he heard an oil hose come loose, he maneuvered under a freeway sign, clipped a 19-foot motorhome and skidded into the center divider. And no one got hurt.

The Anaheim Hills pilot, 83, who was on his way to Corona Airport in his Lancair 320, said he had taken off from Chino Airport and was flying above the interstate when he had to land at about 11:50 a.m. He landed the plane south of the interchange linking I-15 and Highway 91.

Stan Lim/The Press-Enterprise Ken Nicholson, 83, of Anaheim Hills stands along the shoulder of northbound Interstate 15 in Corona after making an emergency landing Monday. An oil hose pulled loose on his single-engine experimental plane.

"The hose just went out, and there I was, looking down, and the only place there was to land was the freeway," said Nicholson, who piloted fighter planes in World War II.

Anne Jones of Tucson, who was driving a Ford truck behind a motorhome being driven by her husband, Doyle, said the scene played out like a Hollywood stunt.

"I am just really stunned that the pilot wasn't injured," she said. "I can't believe he flew right under the sign."

Doyle Jones said he felt the plane bounce on top of the roof of the couple's motorhome and then watched in amazement as the little plane landed right in front of him. The Joneses had been on their way to Las Vegas.

Traffic was snarled for hours as CHP officers blocked the two left lanes of the interstate.

The CHP planned to tow the plane back to Chino Airport, where it would be inspected, CHP Sgt. David Valle said.

Stan Lim The Press-Enterprise An experimental plane hit the top of an RV owned by Doyle and Anne Jones of Tucson, Ariz., while making an emergency landing on Interstate 15 in Corona. No one was hurt.

Valle said he has never seen anything quite like this plane crash. In August 2000, an experimental plane crashed on Interstate 15 in Riverside County, between Corona and Lake Elsinore. The plane slid down an embankment and the pilot suffered only minor injuries.

On Monday, skid marks dotted the interstate lanes for 300 feet, and the plane lay perpendicular to the oncoming traffic. Nicholson sat on the center divider, his hands inside the pockets of his green sweatshirt as he stared at the plane.

"I'm really sorry this happened," he said. "I hope my wife doesn't find out."

Reach Stefanie Frith at (909) 893-2114 or sfrith@pe.com