Plane lands on I-15 south of Tierrasanta during rush hour

A small plane landed on Interstate 15 south of Tierrasanta during rush hour Monday afternoon, authorities said.

The pilot was able to land the plane “gently on its wheels” and made no contact with any vehicles, according to California Highway Patrol logs. Video from NBC San Diego showed the plane in the wide center divide between northbound and southbound lanes.

Motorists started calling just after 4:45 p.m. to report the plane had landed on the freeway north of Aero Drive. Callers said they believed the pilot was the only person on board.

San Diego police said they were told the plane landed on the left shoulder of I-15. A caller told a dispatcher, “It did not crash; it landed smoothly,” CHP Officer John Buttle said. He said the CHP issued a traffic alert shortly after the emergency landing.

A San Diego Fire-Rescue spokesperson said crews responded and “found that the plane had landed safely” and no one was injured.

It was unclear where the plane was headed. Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in Kearny Mesa is roughly a mile west of where the plane landed.

The single-engine Cessna is owned by Tellum Aviation Services in Encinitas, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

This is the third time in recent weeks that pilots landed planes on San Diego County roads. No vehicles have been hit.

Last week, a Cessna 182 Skylane crashed just west of Fallbrook, in the Los Jilgueros Preserve. Officials shut down a stretch of South Mission Road to investigate.

In August, a single-engine Piper PA-28 crash landed on southbound Interstate 805 in Sorrento Valley after the pilot noticed the engine was sputtering and losing power. The plane hit a freeway sign post and came to rest against the center divide.

Staff writer Karen Kucher contributed to this report.