In a bizarre twist of events, a small-engine airplane was forced to make an emergency landing on a North Carolina interstate yesterday evening, before being struck by a passing car. The incident, which played out on I-840 west near I-73 interchange, involved two people aboard the distressed aircraft, WBTV reports. According to Greensboro Police, the plane reported a mechanical failure around 8 p.m. and communicated its distress to Piedmont Triad Airport Communications preceding the landing.
After the small plane settled on the interstate, it was hit by a vehicle, resulting in minor injuries to one of the plane's occupants, who was subsequently taken to a hospital, the local police said. The driver of the vehicle that collided with the plane did not sustain any injuries during, the confrontation. Greensboro police will spearhead an investigation into the crash, while the National Transportation Safety Board will delve into the root cause of the airplane's malfunction, as mentioned in a Star Tribune article.
This unexpected aviation episode triggered a shutdown of the ramp that extended past midnight. Despite the potential for greater harm, the situation was contained with no other reported injuries. Further details surrounding the cause of the emergency landing are yet to be uncovered. Both occupants of the plane when it made its unscheduled descent onto the highway, have not been identified in the reports.
Following the aircraft's unexpected descent, "one person who was a passenger in the plane is being treated at a hospital for injuries,” Greensboro Assistant Police Chief Stephanie Mardis said in a statement obtained by NewsNationNow. Remarkably, amidst the disarray the passenger in the vehicle that clipped the plane was not hurt.
