A pilot survived after a small plane experienced engine problems and made a dramatic emergency landing on a North Carolina highway.
The single-engine Lancair 360 landed on its belly and skidded onto U.S. Highway 1, hitting two cars around 4:20 p.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported, authorities said.
“I mean, he was probably 3 feet off the ground when I saw him, so I don’t think he had very long left,” Chris Sealey, who witnessed the accident, told WRAL -TV. “And there was no big explosion or anything behind me, but you could tell the traffic on both sides was a little, you know, panicked about it, but he had a whole line of cars behind him.”
The plane was flying from Lynchburg, Virginia, to Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina, when it was forced to land near Raleigh Executive Airport at the Sanford-Lee County Airport in Sanford , according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Only the pilot was on board, the agency said.
Although the plane grazed two SUVs on the highway, it suffered only minor damage and no injuries were reported, Moncure Fire Chief Robert Shi said.
The pilot told officials he suffered a propeller failure that led to engine failure, Shi told Fox News. The aircraft landed on its belly with the landing gear not deployed.
“Moncure Fire is grateful that this incident only involved property damage,” Shi said. “US1 is very busy every afternoon and this incident could have been much worse.
Of the two affected cars, only one driver filed a complaint, police said.
New York Post
