Small Plane Clips 2 Vehicles in NC Highway Landing, Miraculously No Injuries Sustained

Moncure, North Carolina, April 5, 2024 — In a heart-stopping incident, a small plane with engine troubles made an emergency landing on U.S. Route 1, narrowly avoiding disaster.

he aircraft clipped two vehicles during its descent, leaving commuters shaken but miraculously unharmed. The single-engine Lancair 360, piloted by an unidentified aviator, descended onto the busy highway near the Raleigh Executive Jetport at Sanford-Lee County Airport around 4:20 p.m. on Thursday.

Witnesses described the plane as flying unusually low, its landing gear conspicuously absent. Chris Sealey, a motorist who witnessed the event, recounted,

"I mean, he was probably like 3 feet off the ground when I saw him, so I don’t think he had very long to go."

As the Lancair 360 touched down, it grazed two vehicles on the highway. Moncure Fire Department Chief Robert Shi confirmed that only one of the vehicles sustained minor damage. The pilot, remarkably composed, emerged unscathed from the cockpit. Authorities from the North Carolina State Highway Patrol reported that of the two vehicles involved, only one driver filed a report. The lack of injuries is nothing short of a miracle given the circumstances. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) swiftly launched an investigation into the incident. The Lancair 360 had been en route from Lynchburg, Virginia, to the serene shores of Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. The sudden engine malfunction forced the pilot to make a split-second decision, and the highway became an unlikely runway. Motorists traveling alongside the plane were both alarmed and fascinated.

“It was like a weird-looking car,” said Sealey, who observed the plane from a few miles away.

"And, there was no big explosion or anything behind me, but you could tell like the traffic on both sides was kind of, you know, freaking out about it, but he had like a whole line of cars behind him."

This incident serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between aviation safety and emergency procedures. While the pilot’s skillful maneuver prevented catastrophe, it also underscores the need for continued vigilance in our skies.

As the FAA delves into the specifics, we can all breathe a sigh of relief that this highway landing ended without tragedy.