Airplane makes emergency landing on highway

Darby, Montana: A retired air traffic controller piloting a small plane to western Montana for a vacation wasn't exactly cleared for a landing when his plane's engine died - good thing the highway was empty.

Pilot James Hollis of Erie, Colo., was forced to make an emergency landing on an unusually empty stretch of U.S. Highway 93 just north of Darby on Thursday morning when his Cessna 182 appeared to run out of fuel.

"He actually got pretty lucky because there's a fair amount of traffic on that road," Montana Highway Patrol trooper Scott Bennett said. "Without the engine running he had no control over where he was going to land."

Bennett said the plane was mistakenly drawing fuel from only one of its two tanks. Once on the ground, Hollis discovered the problem and switched tanks.


"He was pretty embarrassed," Bennett said.

The two-lane highway is flat in the area where the plane came down, but there are trees on both sides. Hollis also was lucky to avoid power lines in the area, the trooper said.

"It had the potential to be really bad," Bennett said.

Troopers closed the road so the plane could take off again. No one was injured.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Montana
• car crash

[brice1157]

@56ratbug not all planes have a both on the fuel selector cause mine shure dont theres a timer in my gps that tells me to switch takes

[TowerClimber81]

You would've thought a retired air traffic controller would know MORE about the plane's dual fuel tanks prior to take off, just say'n!!

[56ratbug]

@rayadomfdz it has been a loooong time since I have been up but I thought the same thing, isn't making sure the fuel selector is on both part of the preflight checklist? lol

[logikclay32]

if i was the other person in that plane id have stayed on the ground??? im not flying with a pilot that forgets anything!!

[Avilator189]

She meant auxiliary tanks. ie, Two tanks in each wing rather than one. But still, what pilot forgets that they have more fuel on board?

[avengedguy]

Guy played to much GTA San Andreas

[Sameh90]

daaaaad .... take a right there's a plane coming through

[mulletmasher]

@opmike343

not if its a crash landing! haha

[opmike343]

@mulletmasher

Planes typically have to take-off again at some point after landing.

[IraTopp]

Hehe, Oopsies!