Talk about impressive airmanship…
In this post:
Plane loses engine, lands on California golf course
At around 1PM local time on Friday, May 2, 2025, a Cessna 172 made an unbelievably impressive emergency landing in Southern California.
There were three people onboard, and the pilot had reported engine issues. While the plan was to land at Santa Monica Airport, the plane couldn’t quite make it. So the pilot looked for somewhere to land, and decided to touch down at the Riviera Country Club, roughly six miles north of the airport, in the Pacific Palisades.
In the video posted online, you can hear one stunned golfer saying “I’m not moving,” and another golfer saying “holy f***, are they okay.” The aircraft bounced several times off a green and pathway, before coming to a stop upright, just feet from some golfers. According to the Los Angeles Fire Department, all three people onboard the aircraft were uninjured, as were all people on the golf course.
Huge kudos to the pilot for his airmanship!
While it’s rare, one of the risks with a single engine plane is that the engine can fail, and at that point the plane becomes a glider.
If it’s not possible to land at an airport, the goal is to land in an area that’s flat, and has few obstructions and people, to minimize the risk of a bad outcome for everyone involved. Obviously this has to be a very fast decision, and that can cause a lot of pressure for a pilot.
But my gosh, this pilot absolutely nailed that landing. The area around Santa Monica is pretty hilly and/or populated, so it’s not necessarily easy to figure out where to land. The golf course was almost certainly the best option, but even that landing was far from easy, given the uneven terrain, the paths, the bunker, etc.
Bottom line
A Cessna 172 flying in Southern California lost an engine, so an emergency landing was required. The pilot showed stellar airmanship, landing the plane on a golf course. This has to be one of the most impressive emergency landing videos we’ve seen in a long time.
What do you make of this emergency landing?
Photo looks fake and amateurish.
Any landing you and your passengers can walk away from is a great landing. Even if you can't get to one of the par 5 fairways.
If someone is looking for an idea for a "Caddyshack" sequel, here it is. Except that after the emergency landing the passengers get out of the plane, pull their golf clubs out of the baggage compartment, and start playing.
"I'm not moving" . Should have won the Darwin Award.
Didn't Harrison Ford do this exact same thing?
I think I remember like one or two other such incidents there as well.
Golf courses look so attractively flat from the air… but they are far from it, not that I presume the pilot had many choices! Looks like this was the best possible outcome - plane might need some new shocks and tires after those bumps but doesn’t look like it has major damage. Sure glad to hear everyone is unharmed, nice work!
why is there a video clip from Flight Simulator posted? Is there no actual video available?
Being a pilot of single engine planes I can say I am impressed. Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.
I thought Harrison Ford wasn't allow to pilot planes anymore???
Millennium Falcon is not a plane.
FORE!!!!!!!!!!!
Always a plus when not only can you walk away from the emergency landing, the plane is left in serviceable condition as well. Well done by the pilot, especially considering that wasn't the most level landing strip and it looks like the golf hole dog legged, making the approach much more complicated as well.