Groveland Twp.-A single engine plane made an emergency landing about 4:20 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon in the median of I -75 north of the East Holly Road overpass.
The pilot was lost and had not made radio contact with an airport when at about 2,000 feet altitude the engine sputtered and stalled said Charles Oaks, Springfield Township fire chef who spoke with both the pilot and passenger shortly after the crash. Both were not injured.
‘After switching fuel tanks the engine would not restart and he started looking for a place to land,? said Oaks.
Both pilot, 45, and passenger, 37, were from Coldwater Ohio, a town of 4,000 located about 50 miles southeast of Ft. Wayne, Ind. The plane took-off from Lakefield Airport in nearby Celina, Ohio heading for Oakland County International Airport in Waterford. The passenger, for whom it was the first time in a small plane, was to pick up a car he’d purchased from a seller in Brighton, said Oaks.
The pilot said he followed procedure and propped the door open and tried to keep the nose of the plane up, actually it was up so far up that he could not see the highway below and landed in the median’skidding about 70 feet south toward the East Holly Road overpass.
The red and white Piper came to rest in the median of the highway facing northeast the wheels were visible and some debris was on the highway. Mud was splattered on the windshield from median and the wings were crushed.
‘They did a great job of getting it down and walking away from the crash. We had several 9-1-1 calls about the plane and to my knowledge no one stayed around as an eyewitness. No cars to my knowledge were involved,? said Oaks.
The airplane crash is not the first in the area said Oaks. About 18 years ago a single engine plane hit guy wires that support a radio tower about 100 yards from Tuesday’s crash.
Michigan State Police Groveland and Metro North, along with Groveland Township Fire Department and Springfield Township Fire Department were on the scene of Tuesday’s crash during heavy rush hour traffic.
Groveland Township firefighters were first on the scene of the crash within about four minutes of the 9-1-1 calls.
‘When we arrived two guys were stumbling around the area of the crash,? said Steve McGee, Groveland Township fire chief. ‘Many cars were stopped when our trucks got there, we notified Springfield (Township) to take over the situation. We were concerned about the fuel on the road and in the median.?
‘Cars were stopping along the highway and the pilot said about 30 gallons of fuel from the plane was spread on the highway and had saturated the ground,? said McGee.
An investigator from the Federal Aviation Administration responded and the plane was taken to Oakland Airport for the National Transportation Safety Board to investigate. Young’s Environmental handled the hazardous material cleanup, according to a report from the Michigan State Police.
An eyewitness to the crash said she saw the plane at about 4:10 p.m. flying south over I -75 a few hundred yards north of East Holly Road.
‘It was flying low and I knew it was going down,? said Maureen Gagnon, of Davisburg, who had just exited I-75 onto East Holly Road when she saw the plane.
‘There was no smoke coming out of the plane and it was not making any noise, then I lost sight of it. When I got on the bridge over I-75 the plane was in the median and cars were stopping to help. The plane must have bounced or turned when it hit the ground.?
Mark Burpee, a Certified Flight Instructor for Destination Flight of Mendon Mich. says there’s no rule for pilots when making an emergency landing.
‘We don’t teach pilots to look for a road, but it’s up to the pilot. If you walk away from the plane it’s OK,? said Burpee, a flight instructor for 15 years with more than 2,000 hours of flight time. ‘At night I would opt for a highway. You aim for a car and chances are you’re going faster in the airplane’overrun the car and land in front of it.?
Burpee said that a frozen lake, field or golf course would also be optium spot if you are going down.
‘But you still always run the risk of hitting power lines it’s a big concern in any emergency landing. A highway is not a bad choice, however, you’re endangering yourself and others on busy roads. But you do what you have to.?