ARLINGTON, Texas — Engine failure is the last thing a pilot wants to experience while soaring above an urban area -- it doesn't matter if you're new to the skies or have been flying them for years.
The complicated problem was presented to 26-year-old Uzziel 'Uzi' Salinas on Monday, and he handled the emergency like a consummate professional despite only having a pilot's license for several months.
Salinas recently moved to Texas from Kansas, hoping to become an airline pilot since American Airlines and Southwest Airlines call North Texas home.
"I'm here trying to get my ratings, trying to get my license certificates out of the way and keep going until I become an airline pilot," Salinas told WFAA at the Grand Prairie Municipal Airport. "The feel I get when I'm up in the air and that takeoff is just thrilling to me."
Salinas got his license in May by training with Aviator Air Flight School in Grand Prairie. He's currently building hours to become a flight instructor. That led him to rent one of the school's planes for a joy ride with a friend on Monday.
Complacency can get a pilot killed, but Salinas says he keeps his training in the back of his mind every time he flies.
"There's a lot of regulations, a lot of bookwork, and a lot you need to go over before you fly," Salinas said. "I know there's a risk any time I go up flying. An emergency is always in your mind; unfortunately, it happened on Monday."
Salinas said he was returning to the airport when he noticed that he wasn't getting any thrust or lift in the plane -- and couldn't thwart a sudden descent.
"I reported to the ATC that I was having issues, and he cleared me for a priority landing," Salinas said. "I realized I wasn't going to make it, so I declared an emergency. I had to find the best place to land and do it with minimal damage and without hurting anyone on the ground."
"That was my focus at that moment."
But finding a safe place to land over Arlington ain't easy.
"I saw nothing but buildings, nothing but traffic, residential buildings, and that definitely did scare me. It made me worry. I even considered the road, but there was too much traffic and too many people," Salinas said.
Salinas did see an open lot next to Keller Warehousing and Distribution near Timberlake and Park Row Dr. and decided to put the plane down there.
He aimed for a chain link fence, hoping it would decrease the plane's velocity -- almost like a plane would crash land into a barrier net on an aircraft carrier.
It ended up being a good choice -- security video shows the plane hitting the fence and coming to a screeching halt in the road.
"I was hoping that the fence would catch us, and when we stopped, I remember looking at my friend and asking if he was okay," Salinas said. "I remember grabbing his hand and saying thank you, God, we're alive."
The aircraft was hauled away by the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating the mechanical failure. Salinas has already gone back up flying, unfazed by Monday's events.
If anything, putting a plane down safely during an emergency is a great way to sell yourself to a potential employer.
"I definitely learned that anything can happen. I learned that this can happen to anyone, and if it does, then remain calm and try to find the best solution," Salinas said. "I'm just thankful we could walk out of that plane alive."