Small plane lands on I-355 near Bolingbrook
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. (CBS) -- A small plane landed on the side of the road on Interstate 355 near Boughton Road in Bolingbrook Tuesday afternoon.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported, traffic was back moving on the Veterans Memorial Tollway Tuesday night – hours after the plane came out of nowhere and just pulled up next to traffic.
The Bolingbrook Fire Department said it responded around 2 p.m. to the southbound lanes for the plane. The pilot was traveling from Middleton, Wisconsin, near Madison, to Brookeridge Airpark in Downers Grove when he reported experiencing a loss of power.
Just another day doing what we do. This pilot did a fantastic job landing on I-355 after an engine failure. No vehicles were involved, and the plane and pilot were unscathed.
Posted by Bolingbrook Fire Department on Tuesday, January 10, 2023
In a Facebook post, the Bolingbrook Fire Department said "Just another day doing what we do. This pilot did a fantastic job landing on I-355 after an engine failure. No vehicles were involved, and the plane and pilot were unscathed."
The aircraft was just a few miles from its destination when the pilot radioed for help. Somehow, the plane's power went out – forcing the pilot to use the tollway in Bolingbrook for his emergency landing.
The pilot reported no injuries. No cars were hit upon landing, according to Bolingbrook officials.
Traffic along southbound I-355 slowed down. Emergency crews directed drivers to move over – closing one lane.
Usually, such a traffic safety move is implemented for a car crash or a construction zone, not for a plane sitting on the tollway.
Such a plane can seat up to six. But the Federal Aviation Administration said only the pilot was inside the single-engine Beechcraft G33 at the time of the landing.
On Tuesday evening, the plane was towed away. A flatbed truck carried the plane off for inspection.
The aircraft is registered to a Denver man, but it is not clear if the owner of the aircraft was the pilot who landed it safely.
The FAA will investigate the incident.