The single-engine aircraft landed on the road at around 12.10pm on Monday, February 9 in Georgia in the United States. It crashed into multiple vehicles at a busy intersection, the Gainesville Police Department said.
Gainesville Police Captain Kevin Holbrook said the plane was trying to return to the airport after the pilot noticed a loss of engine power.
Pilot of the aircraft Thomas Rogers said everything went wrong moments after take-off.
« We lost our engine taking off out of Gainesville and realised, tried to glide back, did everything by the book, but realised we weren’t gonna make it back with how far out we were, so we came down the road, » Mr Rogers told local media.
Mr Rogers was forced to aim for traffic-filled asphalt.
The aircraft hit three vehicles during the landing and ripped a fuel tank loose, sending it crashing into the back of an SUV.
« The fact that this plane came down, did not strike any power poles, any power lines, and only hit three vehicles is absolutely remarkable,” Captain Holbrook said.
Captain Holbrook said hundreds of thousands of vehicles travel the roadway daily, leading emergency crews were expecting the worst.
« This is typically a situation which we would see multiple fatalities, » he added.
Deanna Campbell watched in disbelief the as the incident unfolded.
« I just told my husband, I said, ‘That’s a plane! That’s a plane!’ It really scared us, » Mrs Campbell said.
Police confirmed that Mr Rogers and a student pilot suffered minor injuries. They were taken to hospital for treatment.
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