Plane headed to Lancaster, Pa. makes emergency landing on Va. highway

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (CBS) -- A Southern Airways express commuter plane headed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania made an emergency landing on a Northern Virginia highway Friday afternoon.

According to the FAA, the flight just took off from Washington Dulles International with seven people on board, when it made a hard landing on the Loudoun County Parkway. 

Luckily, no one was injured on the plane or the highway. 

"The pilot was able to safely land the plane in the roadway without striking any vehicles. The only damage that occurred was to the guardrail off the right side of the Parkway," Virginia State Police said.

Stan Little, CEO of Southern Airways, released the following statement to CBS affiliate WUSA9:

"We are relieved to report there were no injuries, and all passengers are safe and sound. We are thankful to our pilots, who did exactly what they were trained to do -- to put the safety of our passengers first. We are working closely with the authorities to thoroughly investigate the situation, and we will take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of our passengers and our fleet."

It took 6 hours to remove the single engine Cessna 208 Caravan plane from the highway. 

So far, no other details are available about the crash. The FAA is investigating the incident. 

Also, no word if snow conditions played a role. 

In:
• Emergency Landing
• Road Closures
• Highway Closure
• Lancaster County
• Virginia