Pilot Testing Recent Engine Rebuild

A Cessna 177RG was forced to make an emergency landing on a busy highway in Oceanside, CA Monday -- striking a sport-utility vehicle, and snarling traffic for hours in the process.

Pilot Ramon Alfonso Campbell, 69, told investigators he was conducting a maintenance flight to test the recently rebuilt engine on the 1974 Cardinal (graphic of type shown above), and was enroute back to McClellan-Palomar Airport in Carlsbad when the incident occurred, according to the Associated Press.

"All of a sudden the engine blew up," Campbell said. "I got all sorts of smoke in the cabin, started losing altitude, started losing power."

He said he contacted Palomar Airport for help. "I said, 'At this point, you can say a prayer for me, because I'm going down. There's no way I'm going to stay up.'"

"All of a sudden, I just saw the plane, it appeared out of nowhere," witness Teena Coletta-Rodriguez said. "The whole back end had some kind of smoke coming out of it, it was going lower and lower."

The aircraft veered away from her vehicle at the last second and impacted the westbound lanes, she said.

Campbell told NBC San Diego as he came down, cars in the westbound lanes slowed to make room, except the driver of one sport utility vehicle. A wing struck the back of the SUV, injuring the driver.

California Highway Patrol Officer Tom Kerns said the driver, Maria Inett Marshall Wilson, 56, was airlifted to a hospital in La Jolla with what was believed to be non-life threatening injuries. The highway was closed in both directions for several hours.

The CHP as well as the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 2144Q        Make/Model: C177      Description: 177, Cardinal
  Date: 06/19/2007     Time: 0140

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Minor     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Substantial

LOCATION
  City: VISTA   State: CA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  AIRCRAFT REPORTED ENGINE PROBLEMS AND FORCE-LANDED ON A HIGHWAY, AIRCRAFT
  STRUCK A VEHICLE, THE ONE PERSON IN THE VEHICLE SUSTAINED MINOR INJURIES,
  VISTA, CA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:   0
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   0     Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   1     Unk:   

WEATHER: 19008 10 SKC 20/13 A2991

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Pleasure      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: SAN DIEGO, CA  (WP09)                 Entry date: 06/19/2007

FMI: www.faa.gov