A pilot with little flying experience had to make an emergency landing on a highway in the United States after the aircraft had engine failure. The maneuver, in Swain County, North Carolina, was successful and left no injuries.
Vincent Fraser, 31, was walking with his father-in-law when, suddenly, the plane’s engine began to lose power until it came to a complete stop over a national park. “That’s when I realized that something was seriously wrong,” the pilot told the American newspaper The Washington Post.
They were 5,500 feet above sea level, soaring over mountains and woods. But Fraser, who has only 100 hours of flying experience, didn’t panic. Instead, he went through the emergency checklist and restarted the engine, which did not resume full power.
Fraser then said that they needed to find a place to land. The father-in-law, in disbelief, laughed and thought it was a joke. In less than two and a half minutes, despite the scare, the aircraft was successfully taken to the asphalt without anyone being injured.
The flight took place on the 3rd of July. The entire event was recorded and posted on social media. In the video, it is possible to see the aircraft flying over cars and also passing close to high voltage wires before coming to a complete stop. Later, Fraser learned that fuel from one of the wings stopped flowing to the engine, which caused the failure.
“What an excellent, injury-free job,” said Swain County Sheriff Curtis Cochran. “There were so many things that could have been catastrophic, but they didn’t.”
Fraser, who wants to become a commercial pilot, previously worked as a flight attendant and got his private pilot’s license in October. Shortly after, he bought the plane that landed on the road.
