Video shows pilot landing stricken small plane on highway

Video shows pilot landing stricken small plane on highway

WeirdNews

Video shows pilot landing stricken small plane on highway

BRYSON CITY, N.C. (AP) — A Florida man who aspires to be a commercial pilot showed his skills in an emergency when he landed a single-engine aircraft on a four-lane North Carolina road, missing cars and power lines as he touched down.

Vincent Fraser was flying the plane July 3 when the aircraft began to lose engine power as he was checking out land he had purchased near a lake. Fraser’s father-in-law also was aboard.

“There was nowhere to land so ... I think I told him I loved him and that I was sorry for putting him in the situation,” Fraser told The Associated Press.

His father-in-law responded that he loved Fraser and to do the best he could.

“And from there on, I was just like, ‘Game on. Let’s get down alive,” he said.

He was heading for a river when a highway, U.S. 19, appeared below the aircraft. A GoPro video posted by the sheriff’s office showed the airplane sailing over cars before it landed on the road, where oncoming traffic pulled off to the shoulder to avoid a collision.

Fraser, a former U.S. Marine who is currently a flight attendant, said he began having second thoughts about his piloting goals afterward. But the successful landing, along with family and community support, bolstered his resolve.

“Now I know that I can do it and I can make it out alive and safe,” Fraser said.