Small plane makes emergency landing at Great Park

A small plane made an emergency landing in Irvine’s Great Park on Saturday, the second time an aircraft has done so in the past two months.

The plane, a single-engine Evektor Sportstar containing a flight instructor and a student, took off from John Wayne Airport and then reported engine trouble about 10 a.m., according to Irvine police and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The pilot set down the plane at the Great Park on a decommissioned runway of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman.

“There were no injuries, no damage to the plane, no damage to the park,” Irvine police spokeswoman Farrah Emami said.

The FAA will investigate the incident, Gregor said.

On Nov. 27, another small plane made a similar landing on an old runway at the Great Park.

That single-engine Cessna 150 took off from Long Beach and was headed to Carlsbad when its pilot reported engine trouble. Both the pilot and a passenger were unhurt.

— Jeremiah Dobruck

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck