Light plane makes emergency landing on New York City highway
Three suffer only minor injuries after 'amazing' touch down in Bronx
A small plane travelling to Connecticut after taking a tour of the Statue of Liberty made an emergency landing on a New York City interstate highway, startling drivers but touching down safely with no serious injuries to anyone on board or on the ground, officials said.
The aircraft, a Piper PA-28, set down at around 3.20pm on Saturday on the northbound side of the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx, in an area where the highway passes through Van Cortlandt Park.
The Federal Aviation Administration said three people were on board. Police and fire officials said neither the male pilot nor two female passengers appeared to have been badly hurt. All were taken to a Bronx hospital for non-life-threatening injuries.
Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters the plane had departed from Danbury municipal airport and was making the return trip when it experienced engine problems.
"We have ... an extraordinary situation and actually a bit of a miracle, thank God, that happened today in our city," he said, calling the successful highway landing, without any serious injuries or deaths "amazing".
"I thought I'd seen everything in my life," he said.
The FAA said damage to the aircraft was minor. Photos taken by bystanders showed the blue and white plane largely intact, but resting on its belly by the snowy edge of the road.
