Plane Makes Emergency Highway Landing 40 Miles East of New York

Plane Makes Emergency Highway Landing 40 Miles East of New York

Data will tell you the two most potentially dangerous parts of any flight are take-off and landing.  While take-off is more of a violent thrust and transformation of energy, I would imagine landing the aircraft is a bit different; it's more delicate, a bit more precise, and one that takes great skill.

Now, try landing an airplane at 5:30 PM on a Massachusetts highway during rush hour traffic - and that's exactly what happened yesterday afternoon in Greenfield according to State Police in Massachusetts.

Greenfield, MA is about 2 hours east of Albany, just 40 miles from the MA and NY border.

Every time I see an airplane in the sky, I marvel at not only the ingenuity it takes to keep a steel beam weighing 10's of thousands of pounds in the air, but also the knowledge and ability it takes to control that thing.

Police say a pilot was forced to make an emergency highway landing after the plane started experiencing a mechanical failure.

Thankfully, the pilot, the two passengers on board, and everybody on the ground came away unharmed.

This is what the Massachusetts State Police said about the incident:

"Shortly after 5:30 p.m. today a small plane was forced to make an emergency landing on Route 91 in Greenfield after suffering a mechanical failure. The pilot was able to make a successful landing and did not crash, avoiding injuries to both occupants. No other vehicles were involved."

At the time this story was published, there were no other details on where the plane was heading, nor the names of the pilot or passengers inside.