Small plane lands on New York highway following engine failure
A small plane landed on a busy highway in New York’s Long Island after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says its pilot "reported engine failure."
The incident happened midday Tuesday on the Southern State Parkway as the aircraft was attempting to return to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, officials said.
In an exchange with an air traffic controller, a voice was heard saying "got engine failure, putting it down on the highway" before being told "If you need to go on the highway that’s fine, if you can make it to the runway, that is clear as well," according to Fox5 NY.
Two people were on board the plane, but there were no reported injuries following the emergency landing.
"A single-engine Piper PA-28 landed on Southern State Parkway after the pilot reported engine failure while on approach to Republic Airport in Farmingdale, New York, around 11:40 a.m. local time on Tuesday, Feb. 20," the FAA said in a statement, adding that it is investigating.
The impact of the crash caused the plane’s fuel to spill on the road, Fox5 NY reports.
"We are working with NTSB, FAA and New York State Police criminal investigators to determine the cause of the plane crash," New York State Police Capt. Robert Orth said.
The station reported that the plane landed near the Exit 33 ramp heading to Route 109 in Suffolk County.
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The crash happened weeks after a business jet crashed onto a crowded Interstate-75 in Naples, Florida, killing two pilots.
In that incident, the Bombardier Challenger 600 business jet slammed into the roadway right after the pilot calmly radioed air traffic controllers that the aircraft lost both engines and "was not going to make the runway."
Video shows that plane skidding across the roadway before slamming into a wall and bursting into flames.
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Witnesses said the plane crashed into two cars on the road before hitting the wall.
Fox Business’ Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.