Atlanta Highway Plane Landing Blocks 4 Lanes Of Traffic As Rush Hour Begins (VIDEO)

ATLANTA — Authorities say a small plane made a smooth emergency landing without hitting any cars on a busy stretch of Interstate 85 in northeast Atlanta just as the city's evening rush hour began.

Television shots showed traffic snarled for miles as the Piper Saratoga blocked at least four lanes of traffic about 5 p.m. Monday. It was hauled away a couple hours later.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said no injuries were reported.

The plane landed on a southbound stretch of the interstate a few miles from Peachtree DeKalb Airport, where it was headed.

The pilot, identified as Matt Conway by WSB-TV, told the station that mechanical problems forced him to land.

Comments

[CessnaDriver]

09:09 PM on 09/23/2010

Landing on a freeway is actually pretty safe for the pilot/passengers and the cars on the ground.

A minute of panic for all, but the record shows  that it's pretty safe. 

More chance of accidents in the ensuing backup and looky-loo time than the emergency landing.

This is what's embarrassing:  running out of fuel and landing on the freeway when you are in the pattern!

[Amalek]

10:57 PM on 09/23/2010

And the accidents in the backup and looky loo don't count?

[Bogey907]

01:27 PM on 09/21/2010

Oh, you meant RUNWAY 85!

[CessnaDriver]

04:56 PM on 09/23/2010

Looks like RNW 85R to me!

[Michelle HooperGraceffa]

01:01 PM on 09/21/2010

I wonder if he'll remember to drop his gear on his next "engine failure"??

[DismayedRepub]

11:48 PM on 09/21/2010

You know that your landing gear is up and locked when it takes FULL power to taxi to the airport.

[CessnaDriver]

05:23 PM on 09/23/2010

A friend of mine belly-landed a Baron after he got distracted by a horn he had never heard before. 

The horn was the gear-up landing warning. 

[CessnaDriver]

07:50 PM on 09/23/2010

I don't know about that model, but the retractable Pipers I have flown have landing gear that basically fall down by themselves  in an emergency. Makes a hellova "whump". I prefer letting the motors bring the gear down gently. 

[NatTurner1]

11:35 AM on 09/21/2010

I bet everyone was cursing about all the smack they gave about how ineffective MARTA was.

[johnjohn1234]

07:35 AM on 09/21/2010

Cop to pilot, "Hey buddy, you can't park here."

[CessnaDriver]

05:26 PM on 09/23/2010

An FAA inspector once red-tagged an airplane that was parked at an engine shop with the engine removed.  The tag  said,  "This airplane is not to be operated until an engine and propeller are installed and tested."

The Reagan/Liddy Dole-era FAA administrator defended the inspector's actions. 

[Dham4201]

05:29 AM on 09/21/2010

i love all the self righteous people "oh why didnt he find a better place to land" hes better than most people driving out their who have no idea their cars work and piss out on the highway

[CessnaDriver]

05:27 PM on 09/23/2010

What the hell do they think freeways are for?

[Amalek]

10:59 PM on 09/23/2010

That's right, us peasants are only allowed to use these emergency runways when the aristocrats don't need them.

[AirViceMarshalPark]

01:58 AM on 09/21/2010

There are 17,000 airports in this country and airlines serve only 1,500 of them. The rest of them are exclusively dependent on general aviation for air service. That includes the large fleet of single engine, single pilot airplanes owned by Federal Express, medevac aircraft, tourists, private businesses and the like. One of the vital services is the nightly flying of checks from banks to clearing houses.

If you live in a town away from a major airport, your Amazon order got there by small private plane. Some states, like Alaska, would have large chunks of territory cut off from the world without GA. It isn't just a hobby.

[CessnaDriver]

07:47 PM on 09/23/2010

Check out the stories on the LA Times website about SMO having the runway closed for a few days. 

There are a few venomous locals that you might find interesting.

[KIVPossum]

01:55 AM on 09/21/2010

At 5 in the afternoon, where do you find enough room on an Atlanta Interstate to land a plane?

[Democrat in the South]

08:37 AM on 09/21/2010

That was my first thought.

[NotARhetoricalQuestion]

09:13 AM on 09/21/2010

Mine too!

[Tanker10a]

09:39 AM on 09/21/2010

KIVPossum,
Truthfully, that is standard procedure to land an aircraft on the highway if you do not have an open-field as your primary emergency landing zone because the next best thing is a wide body of water. Preferably, my choice would have been the highway in lieu of the water due to the obvious: equipment damage.
It was pretty cool that he landed this Piper on such a busy highway without touching a single object including a moving car. Besides, you couldn't have a better aircraft to land in such a circumstance because Pipers are extremely stable and they make a very smooth landing. It's inconceivable that he landed nearly straight following the white line for centerline...
I had my first solo ride on a Piper Warrior; and once you fly a Piper, you will never want to fly a Cessna.
Awesome job Pilot!
Besides, he has not sustained any damages. DOT, NTSB and FAA are going to have their way with the pilot and they will release him.
His worse problem is the unexpected cost of paying for a flatbed truck to haul his Piper aircraft back to its home-field.

[sceptic]

04:19 PM on 09/21/2010

Was the gear down? Didn't look like it.

[KIVPossum]

01:28 AM on 09/22/2010

I wasn't asking about where he landed, only how. Can't believe he found open space on an Atlanta freeway to put it down.

[Megajim]

01:50 AM on 09/21/2010

It was the pope!

[Kevin Atlanta]

01:25 AM on 09/21/2010

That's one hell of a place to park a plane Mr.  LOL  I'm so happy I don't have to face Atlanta traffic anymore.

[angryliberal]

01:13 AM on 09/21/2010

I see Dubya's gone back to flying.

[Rod DK]

01:34 AM on 09/21/2010

Question, did he ever fly? By himself I mean.

[KIVPossum]

02:06 AM on 09/21/2010

Yes. Not a lot. He got grounded when he refused (a serviceman refusing an order??) to take a physical. No matter who your daddy is, the ANG doesn't let you fly when you are full of coke.

[wishfulslinking]

10:07 AM on 09/21/2010

He flew fighter jets, before the alcohol related brain damage.

[gabygz]

12:36 AM on 09/21/2010

Why don't we just turn the whole city into an airport?

[AirViceMarshalPark]

01:09 AM on 09/21/2010

Not gonna help you on this one. You can answer that all by yourself.

[CessnaDriver]

05:57 PM on 09/23/2010

When you are in a broken plane looking for a place to slap down, it is. 

[ramal]

12:28 AM on 09/21/2010

Just couldn't resist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyhaTQseKTQ

[CarolinaDem]

12:35 AM on 09/21/2010

danke!!

[DJlaysitup]

12:27 AM on 09/21/2010

Amazingly - I work two exits South of this right off I-85. When we heard this on the news and saw the helicopters hovering around we expected a huge traffic problem...gotta give big ups to the GA highway patrol...they just made sure there was no fire and then opened up the right two lanes so folks could just drive around the plane.

I could only imagine the old GA State patrolman saying over the radio to his Captain "Ain't no big deal sir...just a plane landed on the road..it's not on fire..we just need a mobile crane and a flatbed...better tell em to bring lifting straps".

[MajorKong]

12:24 AM on 09/21/2010

Very lucky. Highways typically have power lines. And you don't see them until it's too late.

[KIVPossum]

01:57 AM on 09/21/2010

Some Atlanta Interstates are wider than the main runway at O'Hare.

[MajorKong]

08:55 AM on 09/21/2010

It's not the width (most jet runways are 150 feet wide btw) it's the various overpasses and such that cross over them.

[django7]

05:39 AM on 09/21/2010

There are no power lines on Interstates. They were designed to be landing stripes in case of emergencies. Every so many miles they have a straight stretch for landing a big plane.

[Suntio]

07:11 AM on 09/21/2010

I didn't know that, thanks for the info.

[ge971]

08:08 AM on 09/21/2010

Bull$#!t