Student pilot onboard Cessna 172M Skyhawk that made emergency landing on Los Angeles 101 Freeway

A Californian student pilot and his trainer turned what could have been a deadly crash into a seamless emergency landing on a Los Angeles busy freeway on Monday (local time).

The Cessna 172M Skyhawk with registration number N1399U declared emergency while fling east of Thousand Oaks. 

Control was given back to the instructor who lined the aircraft up with the nearby 101 Freeway in the Westlake Village area, touching down without any injuries to those onboard or on the ground.

Student pilot onboard Cessna 172M Skyhawk that made emergency landing on Los Angeles 101 Freeway
Photo credit: FlightRadar24

"The officer in command was able to land the plane," California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Craig Martin said. 

"He was able to take over and safely land the plane."

CHP briefly closed all eastbound lanes of the 101 Freeway so fire crews could get through to move the plane to the right shoulder, and some highway signage had to be cut down to manoeuvre the plane to a safer location before it was towed.

It was not immediately clear what prompted the emergency landing.