GREEN OAK CHARTER TOWNSHIP (WWJ) - A single engine plane was forced to make an emergency landing in the median on US-23 in Green Oak Charter Township late Saturday morning after authorities said the engine stalled out.
Green Oak Charter Township Fire Chief Kevin Gentry said the small aircraft glided in and safely landed between the northbound and southbound lanes of US -23 after Silver Lake Road before the Lee Road exit near Pickney around 11:30 a.m.
The pilot, a 75-year-old Plymouth native and former Marine, told authorities that he was flying his plane alone when the engine just stalled out and completely lost power.
"Ironically enough, this is second time the engine has failed in that plane, so this is the second time he's had to do this type of landing," said Green Oak Township Police Chief Steven Kramer. "The first time he was actually able to get it to an airport."
Related
Kramer said the pilot was calm and collected, which attributed to the smooth landing.
Witness Judy called in to WWJ and reported seeing the plane land, calling the pilot "remarkable" as he missed wires and other obstacles.
"He landed safely, avoiding wires and guard rails and everything on that median," tipster Judy said to WWJ's Jeremy Jenkins.
Gentry echoed Judy's statement and said the plane did not hit the many collision avoidance wires along the strip of grass.
"There was actually no damage to the plane and there no injuries," Gentry said.
"It could've been much worse," said Kramer "When you first hear a plane on the freeway, my mind always goes to a commercial plane and then you see a small little single engine plane, which makes it a lot more manageable."
The plane's small size made it possible to easily tow the aircraft to a MDOT garage a few miles down the road. Kramer said a mechanic was on the way over to remove the wings so it could be towed back to the airport.
Kramer said the pilot was flying the plane as part of his yearly inspection.
"Part of that inspection is operating your plane for an hour and that's what he was doing, was just simply doing that yearly hour flight to complete the inspection," Kramer explained.
Related
Traffic is reported to be very slow moving in the area in both directions, but Gentry said traffic should return to a normal flow.
Witnesses said the plane appeared to be heading south before it made its decent on to the freeway.
The pilot made it out of the plane, according to witnesses, and was standing off the side with someone who stopped to help when emergency vehicles arrived on scene.
Gentry said the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the incident.
Stay tuned to WWJ LIVE for the latest updates in this developing situation.
