A small plane after experiencing apparent engine trouble, made a successful emergency landing onto a busy highway in the Bronx, this past Saturday January 4. Officials say the aircraft, a PA-28-180, touched down at 3:20 P.M. on the Northbound Side of the Major Deegan Expressway.
According to police, there were three people on board including the pilot, a man and two women, and while all three were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital for examination, it is thought that only one sustained minor injury. The group took off from Danbury earlier that day for the Statue of Liberty, and on their return experienced an onboard emergency, which led to their landing.
The plane landed without striking any other vehicles, and it came out nearly unscathed, remarkably, sustaining only light damage to its landing equipment. Fire officials reported that there were no fires in or around the plane as a result of the incident.
Besides frightening a few travelers and temporarily shutting down the northbound Major Deegan Expressway, the outcome of this unlikely event was largely positive. When asked to comment on the affair, newly-elected mayor Bill de Blasio said, “a miracle, thank God…happened today in our city.”
