A small plane made an emergency landing on the Southern State Parkway in Long Island, officials said, leading to a robust response from first responders.
The emergency landing took place in East Farmingdale near Exit 34 in Suffolk County. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement that the single-engine aircraft, a Piper Cherokee Archer, landed on the highway after the pilot reported engine failure as it was approaching Republic Airport in Farmingdale just after 11:30 a.m.
The pilot told an air traffic controller that he was going to have to land the plane on the highway due to the engine problems.
"If you need to go on the highway that’s fine. If you can make it to the runway that’s approved as well," the air traffic controller can be heard replying.
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Video shows first responders, including what appear to be fire trucks, police cars and ambulances, lining the parkway. The small plane can be seen in the snow by a sign at the side of the parkway.
Two people, the pilot and co-pilot, were on board the plane when it went down, according to New York State Police. Another pilot in the air said it appeared the plane had hit a pole with its wing, and it appeared the two people were getting out.
Both were evaluated at the scene and were taken to the hospital. State police said the two suffered minor injuries and are expected to recover.
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The plane was attempting to return to Republic Airport after a journey lasting just under two hours that the chart of its route showed was a twisting, turning path over Long Island. FAA records indicate the aircraft is 49 years old, the website FlightAware said it had made seven trips over the past two weeks.
It was not clear if Tuesday's flight was a training flight. An official cause of the crash had not yet been determined. State police, the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating what may have gone wrong.
