Image of incident from highway camera. Image by Florida Department of Transportation via FL511.com

A single-engine airplane landed on Interstate 95’s northbound lanes late yesterday (July 22, 2009) after the pilot experienced engine troubles.  The Grumman American AA-5 Traveler (registration N7109L) with pilot Glenn T. Wade on board landed on I-95 at about 7:10 PM EDT near the city of Edgewater (mile marker 242).

The pilot had departed New Smyrna Beach Municipal Airport (EVB) and, as he was flying over I-95 on a southerly direction, his engine began to sputter.  The pilot turned the plane around and decided to try and reach Massey Ranch Airpark (X50), which is located slightly northwest of Edgewater, Florida and was a lot closer than trying to return to EVB.  However, the engine problems soon became worse and the pilot opted to land the plane on the northbound lane of I-95, five miles south of X50.  At the time of the landing, the segment of road being used by the pilot was empty and he was able to land in the road without incident.  I-95N near mile marker 242 is relatively light in traffic compared to other parts of I-95 in Florida.  The pilot pulled the plane off to the side of the highway and the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) soon arrived.

Although the FHP initially intended to tow the plane back to EVB, the pilot and another pilot (unclear if any of them were mechanics as well) performed an engine run-up and decided it was OK to fly the plane back to an airport.  The FHP blocked I-95N so the plane could take off about ninety minutes after the landing.

A Grumman American AA-5 with the same registration number suffered an engine failure in Chula Vista, California in June 16, 1974.  In that particular flight, there was a problem with the control cable for the carburetor heat, which led to the engine failure.  It would be interesting to know if a similar problem occurred on this flight.

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Related Post:

• A look at the perils of taking off with known engine issues.
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