Darrell Roberts, 58, of Winchester, Calif. was arrested on Tuesday, suspected of flying an aircraft while under the influence of alcohol. This came after he made an Emergency Landing in a Parking Lot of the warehouse belonging to the Michael Kors fashion house in Whittier, Los Angeles on Monday at around 10:15 p.m. Roberts was reportedly the only person on the plane at the time.
Authorities to investigate whether the plane ran out of fuel
According to Lt. Alex Villanueva of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, authorities are investigating whether the emergency landing was due to an engine failure, or if the plane had merely run out of fuel.
Villanueva added that Roberts, who had reportedly flown the plane from Temecula, failed a sobriety test at the scene of the emergency landing. While Roberts was not injured in the landing, he was taken to a local hospital after complaining of abdominal pain. According to Villanueva, the pilot was released from the hospital on Tuesday and then booked at the Pico Rivera sheriff’s station.
Roberts got lost while flying from Temecula
According to a report by Bakersfield Now, Roberts had got lost and was running out of gas at the time of the emergency landing. Villanueva said Roberts was heading in the wrong direction and somehow landed up in LA County. He also said that while driving under the influence is dangerous, flying under the influence increases by a factor of 10 the number of things that can go wrong.
He did add that a DUI involving an airplane doesn’t happen too often.
Pilot arrested on suspicion of DUI after small plane makes hard landing in Whittier https://t.co/vIiSKJJ21e pic.twitter.com/MBVHZbukNU
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) April 4, 2017
Villanueva added it was very lucky Roberts landed in a parking lot that is just over 2,000 feet in length.
As for any damage caused in the incident, according to Ian Gregory speaking for the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane’s left wing did clip a stop sign after landing but no damage was found. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector was to inspect the plane on Tuesday. It is unclear where Roberts was heading when he made the flight from Temecula.
In the meanwhile, Roberts is being held in lieu of $1,000 bail and will be heading to court on July 5.
