Pilot Conducts Emergency Landing On Maine Interstate During Rush Hour
Sachin Hejeji, who was trying to make it to Portland International Airport, had to land his single-engine Cessna 152 on the highway at around 5 p.m. after his engine lost power at around 2,000 feet.
"He tried to get power back to the engine and was unable to do so, and at that point his only option was to put down on the interstate," Maine State Police Trooper Justin Cooley told Bangor Daily News. "He landed at about mile 13 southbound in Cumberland. He came to a final rest on the median at 13 southbound."
Traffic was backed up for about 10 miles, according to AP.
"Traffic was just trying to get around it," AP reported witness Jacob Alves as saying, who also explained that some drivers drove under the plane's wing or went around it.
The NTSB is scheduled to begin investigating the incident, and officials were working on a plan to take the plane away on a flatbed truck, according to Bangor Daily News.