Plane Makes Emergency Landing On N.H. Interstate Highway
NEW LONDON, N.H. (CBS/AP) — Authorities say no one was hurt when a small plane experiencing engine trouble made an emergency landing Sunday afternoon on Interstate 89 in New Hampshire.
The plane landed just after 5 p.m. Sunday near exit 12 on the northbound side of the highway in New London, N.H. State Police said in a prepared statement.
At about 5 p.m., trooper Peter Hurkett was monitoring traffic on I-89 in New London when he saw a small aircraft traveling northbound descending toward the highway. The aircraft, a Cessna Skyhawk, landed on the northbound side of the interstate, the state police said.
The pilot, John Principe, 65, of Washington, N.H., and his passenger, Karl Kloeppel, 66, of Newport, N.H., were not hurt in the incident. No one on the ground was injured.
Principe told troopers the aircraft lost power and he determined the safest place to land was the highway.
Troopers consulted with the Federal Aviation Administration in Portland, Maine, and it was decided that the plane would be towed from the scene to an airfield in Newport.
Traffic was impacted minimally as the aircraft was removed.
The Skyhawk, also known as a Cessna 172, is a four-seat, single-propeller aircraft.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.
