A small plane made a dramatic emergency landing on a busy British road at rush hour — here's why pilots train to land on highways

• A small plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a highway in England on Friday evening.
• The pilot was forced to make the dramatic landing after a suspected engine failure.

A small plane was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing in the middle of a busy British highway on Friday after it suffered a suspected engine failure.

The forced landing caused a mile-long traffic jam on the A40 Golden Valley Bypass, a stretch of highway in Gloucestershire, southwest England.

Local police said in an X post that there were no injuries and that no other vehicles were impacted in the incident.

"As I drove past some people were trying to help the pilot out of the stricken plane," one witness told the MailOnline.

"It looked like the pilot managed to down the plane in the perfect place to not cause any harm considering it was towards the end of rush hour," they added.

The unexpected landing was likely caused by an in-flight engine failure, Gloucestershire Airport Director Jason Ivey told the BBC. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has opened an investigation into the incident, Gloucestershire Airport said in an X post.

[3/4] We are incredibly relieved that no one was seriously hurt and would like to thank the emergency services for their brilliant efficiency.

The Air Accidents Investigation Branch has launched an investigation, which we will fully cooperate with.

— Glos Airport Ltd (@GlosAirport) August 11, 2023

Gloucestershire Police and Gloucestershire Airport did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.

Why pilots train to land on highways when they're in trouble

Aircraft don't always have enough time or altitude to make the nearest runway during an engine failure, so pilots have to find the closest usable flat surface.

"Pilots are constantly simulating emergency scenarios," Andrew Treulich, an FAA-certified flight instructor, previously told Insider. "We train students for engine failures in multiple different phases of flight because it most often happens when you least expect it."

Pilots often prefer highways to fields as a field "could contain ditches and other hazards that can cause damage to the aircraft or injury to the pilot," he said.

Treulich added that as long as the emergency situation warrants a highway landing, it breaks no laws as the pilot is trying to protect life and property.