At 10:30 today (8/23/09) a Piper Comanche airplane owned by Kris and Alison Michel of Eureka, California ran out of gas on its' way the the Santa Barbara Airport. The plane struck the freeway first and then the rear of the craft struck another car, and still another car ran into the airplane. Four cars in total were involved.
The plane landed on 101 Southbound, just south of Patterson. All but one lane (the fast lane) were closed due to the accident. At least four vehicles were involved in the crash aside from the airplane. There were no injuries in the crash.
The pilot was able to get a "MAYDAY" call off to the airport, and both SBPD, CHP and Sheriff responded to the scene, but none were able to respond in time to create a traffic stop so the aircraft could stop without hitting another vehicle.
The FAA and NTSB will be conducting an investigation.
Local pilot Steve Worthington said that "generally pilots leave about 25% of their tank available in case they are routed to another airport."