Seaside police find drugs after plane lands on highway

A pilot and a passenger were arrested early Thursday on suspicion of transporting cocaine after their small plane made an emergency landing on State Route 76 in Oceanside, police said.

Officials found the plane – a single-engine Piper Cherokee – just before 1:45 a.m. on SR-76 near Canyon Drive. The pilot had called 911 to report that he had landed about a mile west of Oceanside Municipal Airport, Oceanside Police Deputy Chief Taurino said Valdovinos.

According to FlightAware tracking, the plane took off from Falcon Field Airport in Mesa, Arizona around 11:10 p.m. on Wednesday. The plane flew west for about two hours, banked over the ocean and began heading east toward Bob Maxwell Memorial Airfield in Oceanside.

According to FlightAware tracking, the plane's speed and altitude decreased rapidly around 1:30 a.m. while it was still a few miles from the airport.

The pilot and passenger were uninjured and were standing on the side of the road when police arrived. One of the men was seen trying to throw a backpack into bushes, Valdovinos said.

“Obviously this raised some red flags,” Valdovinos said. “In the end, they arrested the people and continued their investigation.”

The passenger allegedly had a small amount of cocaine with him, and a kilo of cocaine was allegedly discovered in the backpack, the deputy chief said.

The 21-year-old pilot named Gabriel Breit and his 36-year-old passenger Troy Smith are both residents of Oceanside, police said. The two men were booked into the Vista Jail on suspicion of conspiracy and transportation of a controlled substance. They are being held in lieu of $20,000 bail.

The plane was towed from the highway back to the airport, police said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the circumstances of the emergency landing. According to FAA records, the aircraft is registered to a limited liability company in San Diego. Police said the pilot rented the plane.

The administration's online database shows that Breit received his professional and instructor pilot licenses in September last year.

Originally published: September 26, 2024 at 8:14 am