Shocking moment small plane forced to make emergency landing on busy motorway
Miraculously, the two people on board light aircraft walked away unhurt after the plane came down in California as an investigation is launched into what went wrong
Shocked motorists were left stunned when a small plane made an emergency landing on a busy motorway.
The rush-hour chaos in California, US, was captured on camera as the light aircraft touched down in the central reservation. The plane remarkably avoided hitting any other vehicles as it rolled down the middle of the highway before coming to a sudden stop, much to the relief of the terrified pilot.
The man radioed to air traffic control moments before the sudden landing, and he was heard saying: “Mayday! Mayday! 57-Lima Bravo. Lost engine on left base." Passengers in the cars below captured the moment the plane made its way down to the ground.
Air Traffic Control attempted to clear traffic on a runway for the pilot to land safely at a local airport, but and was told the plane wouldn't make it. “I can’t,” the pilot later told control. “I can’t restart it. I think I might hit the 15.” The Federal Aviation Administration said the two people on board were uninjured.
The plane originally took off from Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport on Monday, before running into trouble at 4.45pm. The incident remains under investigation. Rich Martindell, a retired aircraft accident investigator, told KGTV.“At the altitude he was at, when the motor quit, he didn’t have a lot of places to go. He picked a good one."
Thankfully nobody was injured, but tragically two people died when a plane crashed into a busy road and exploded in a fireball in the Brescia province, Italy, back in July. In chilling footage, the plane can be seen rapidly falling to the ground in a steep descent.
Miraculously, the aircraft managed to miss all of the cars and other vehicles on the Corda Molle at the time. One car could be seen driving straight through the fireball that spread across the road when the plane hit the ground.
Another car also drove through the flames, but neither vehicle lost control. Two motorists were injured with non-life-threatening injuries. Officials investigating the incident involving the “ultralight” plane have said it will be difficult to determine what caused the crash. The lack of rules for this type of plane meant it did not have to declare its destination when it took off.
Investigators will look into if there is a gap in the regulations that meant certain procedures did not have to be followed before the plane embarked on its final journey. Two people onboard the aircraft, a 75-year-old lawyer from Milan named Sergio Ravaglia and his female partner Anna Maria De Stefano, 50, died.
Traffic on the motorway was immediately suspended in both directions for several hours. Fire crews rushed quickly to the scene and were able to extinguish the fire and secure the area. An investigation into the crash is now underway.
Eyewitness Enzo Bregoli said they saw the plane flying low, but it did not seem to be in any sort of trouble. According to a translation of their comments to Corriere della Sera, they said: “Suddenly, the pilot seemed to lose control: the ultralight spun around and fell straight down onto the road, nose-first. If he had just tried to turn, it could have hit me. The moment the aircraft touched the asphalt, it immediately caught fire.”
Mr Bregoli said he was "worried" and was around 50 metres behind the plane. He said he crossed into an emergency lane to get away from the fire. Cladio Nolli, 49, was also driving nearby. She said she had entered a ring road close to the crash when flames suddenly erupted in her eye line.
“I entered the ring road and saw a burst of flame, without understanding what had happened,” she said. “I had a truck in front of me and I crashed into it, passing through the flames. Then there was a loud bang, it was a ball of fire."