Pilot makes emergency landing on Highway 101 near Ukiah

A Fort Bragg man made an emergency landing of his single-engine plane on Highway 101 in Ukiah Saturday after he felt he was losing power and could not make it back to the nearby airport, fire officials said.

The landing in the northbound lanes just south of Talmage Road was reported about 11:40 a.m., said Jeff Adair, division chief of Ukiah Valley Fire Authority.

Traffic was light and the pilot, identified by the California Highway Patrol as the registered owner, Lee Barlow of Fort Bragg, was able to avoid coming close to any cars, Adair said.

“He picked a good spot and did a good job putting it down,” Adair said.

There were no passengers on board Barlow’s blue and white 1965 Cessna 150E.

After the landing, he pulled the plane onto the shoulder. Firefighters arrived, cut a hole in the freeway fence and rolled the plane onto a frontage road.

The landing happened less than a mile from the Ukiah Municipal Airport. Barlow had just lifted off from the airport when his plane suffered a mechanical problem, CHP Sgt. Jake Herrman said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paul Payne at 707-568-5312 or paul.payne@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ppayne.