I never quite understood why pilots especially in the US generally want to land their engine-out aircraft on busy highways with the obvious risk of injuring other people, instead of … well, almost anywhere else in most areas.
Huv, have you ever been to Los Angeles?
Now where shall I put it…..
Flying a single engine aircraft over any of that would seem to violate 14 CFR 91.119:
§ 91.119 Minimum safe altitudes: General.
Except when necessary for takeoff or landing, no person may operate an aircraft below the following altitudes:
(a) Anywhere. An altitude allowing, if a power unit fails, an emergency landing without undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
Having no option but to land on a busy highway, IMHO, is causing undue hazard to persons or property on the surface.
“Except when necessary for takeoff or landing” may be the key
Typically in the LA basin you’d plan to make emergency landings at an airport, but if for whatever reason (like during takeoff or landing) you can’t make an airport, you’re looking at roads, water drainage culverts and that sort of a thing.
I think the legalities fall into the same category as the restrictions placed on flying FAA experimental amateur built aircraft over populated areas; since the definitions of populated, taking off, landing etc are debatable and (more importantly) since there has proven to be no major safely issue regardless, nobody worries about it. LA grew up with aircraft and airports everywhere, still has them, and it’s part of normal life.
another one
I – obviously – fly over L.A. all the time and the number of spots to put down is extremely limited. It’s just part of life here. The FAA regs just stipulate 1000ft above a congested area (their term).
After that, they “landed” the right way up