(The following article by Lisa Hart was posted on the Victorville Daily Press website on December 15.)
BARSTOW, Calif. — An 80-year-old woman was unhurt after her airplane ran out of fuel and made an emergency nighttime landing between railroad tracks at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe inspection yard, officials said Monday.
Sgt. Albert Ramirez from the Barstow Police Department said an officer spotted the Cessna Skyhawk flying low over Barstow around 10 p.m. Sunday.
“The 80-year-old female pilot landed in the inspection yard,” Ramirez said. “She was low on fuel and needed a place to land.”
Ramirez said there was minor damage to the plane’s landing gear but the pilot, who was the only person in the plane, did not suffer any injuries.
BNSF employee Jesse Wood said he and other workers saw the small plane circling around, waiting for trains to clear from the tracks.
“She landed pretty good, right between two tracks,” Wood said. “You don’t see something like that every day.”
Dan Duffy, a BNSF brakeman, said he arrived at the rail yard in Barstow around 3 a.m. and heard the stories of his surprised co-workers.
“I don’t know how she got away without hitting any trains,” Duffy said. “I don’t know too many planes that make landings at the Santa Fe yard.”
BNSF railroad police took over the investigation and moved the plane out of the way of trains, Ramirez said. They could not be reached for comment.