November 24, 2013
NEW YORK: In a shocking incident, a small plane after experiencing engine trouble made an emergency landing on a highway near Portland in the US during rush hour and taxied along the road without damaging any vehicles.
November 24, 2013
NEW YORK: In a shocking incident, a small plane after experiencing engine trouble made an emergency landing on a highway near Portland in the US during rush hour and taxied along the road without damaging any vehicles.
The plane landed on a highway in Cumberland, Maine and taxied along the road for sometime, until resting in Falmouth, Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland said.
"It seemed at that point that the plane's engine lost power, which was causation of the plane coming down," Justin Cooley, a police official, was quoted as saying by WMTW-TV.
The plane came to a stop partially on the median. The pilot, identified as Sachin Hejeji of Falmouth, was visibly upset at the scene, but escaped unhurt in the incident which took place on Thursday.
Despite the inconvenience as traffic on the highway came to a halt, police said it was a blessing no one was hurt.
McCausland said Hejeji was flying a Cessna 152 he rented from Maine Aviation from Waterville to the Portland International Jetport.
Officials with Maine Aviation said the aircraft is reliable and has not experienced issues in the past. Hejeji has been renting with the company for a while and said he has not had any problems before.
Traffic in the southbound lanes have slowed and motorists driving south should seek another route, McCausland said.
Ted Talbot from the Maine department of transportation said police will put the plane on a flat bed truck and take it to a facility in Yarmouth. Troopers said they will tow the plane north in the southbound lanes.
Courtesy: PTI
