Update:
A pilot who made an emergency landing in a Livermore field on Sunday afternoon was briefly detained by security at Sandia National Laboratories but was later released, a laboratory spokesman said today.
The pilot of a single-engine Piper J3 had the plane's engine fail at about 3:30 p.m. and landed in a field on the Sandia campus, located at 7011 East Ave., about 5 miles east of the Livermore Municipal Airport, Sandia spokesman Mike Janes said today.
Sandia -- a national security laboratory -- keeps tight security and the pilot was pulled away from the plane by armed guards, Janes said.
The pilot was interviewed by the laboratory security and then turned over to Livermore police, but his story checked out and he was released, Janes said.
The plane is registered to Yuba City resident John Cabigas, according to FAA records.
No one was injured in the landing.
It was the second time that a small plane made an emergency landing in the area in the past month. A two-seat Cessna 152 landed in a field nearby on April 15, but that plane did not land on the Sandia campus.
Original story:
The pilot of a small airplane made an emergency landing in Livermore after experiencing engine failure Sunday afternoon, according to a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman.
The plane, a Piper J3 with the tail number N31786, reportedly experienced engine failure around 3:30 p.m., FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
According to the FAA's preliminary investigation, the pilot made a precautionary landing about 5 miles east of Livermore Municipal Airport, Gregor said.
Nobody on board the plane was injured and no damage to the plane was reported.
The FAA is investigating the cause of the engine problem.
--By Bay City News
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
