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Miracle on the Turnpike? Plane Lands on NJ Turnpike

Airlines & Airports, Northeast, Plane Crashes, USA — on February 1, 2010 1:21 pm

Traffic jam in rearview mirrorA small plane carrying a pilot and a traffic reporter made an emergency landing on the New Jersey Turnpike this morning right before the start of rush hour.

The pilot landed the plane safely and pulled over to the shoulder.

Nobody was injured in the incident, but rubberneckers clogged traffic for a mile and a half in each direction. Keep reading for more details.

The pilot and reporter were gathering traffic information for several TV and radio stations when a low oil pressure indicator came on in the plane. Shortly before 7 a.m., the pilot landed the plane on the northbound lanes of the turnpike in Cherry Hill, NJ.

Traffic was reportedly moving pretty well before the plane landed. It was eventually loaded onto the back of a truck and taken in for maintenance, but not before commuters had the chance to stop and gawk at it.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced that they will launch their own investigation.

Get the latest on air safety accidents in our Plane Crashes section.

New Jersey motorists are already used to dealing with aggressive and quick-tempered drivers on their morning commutes, but have never had to worry about getting cut off by an airplane—until now.

By Dan Bence for PeterGreenberg.com.

Related Links: New Jersey Real-Time News

PeterGreenberg.com Links:

  • DD

    A plane landed on the Garden State Parkway about six months ago, and a few years back, one landed on Rt 46 near the Teterboro Airport.

  • rupert

    Nothing surprising here. Small planes use piston powerplants that are far more unreliable (even with dual sets of spark plugs and electric systems) compared to turbine jet engines due to the complexity of piston engines (how many times has your car broken down?).

    Pilots are trained to pick a smooth landing spot free of obstacles without reducing min glide airspeed (so the plane won’t stall and nose dive down spirally) and usually the best landing spot is the interstates that don’t have any overhead wires, etc. However, in other circumstances (such as a filled highway), the pilots have to land the plane on a grass field that is atleast a couple of 100 feet long.

    I think the DOT driver exams should include information about landing aircraft. Not that it happens everyday but it can and will happen every now and then. This will teach them to be corteous to the pilot and not try to keep speeding if they see a plane descending in front of them. (Planes are usually faster than cars, but I am giving a scenario of a crazy driver with no concern).