A freeway landing didn’t quite go as these things often do when a Beech Baron landed squarely on a car in the middle lane of I-95 near Cocoa, Florida, on Monday. The two people on board the plane were uninjured and the driver and lone occupant of the car had only minor injuries in the crash, which happened shortly after the twin took off from Cocoa-Merritt Island Airport for a local flight about 5:39 p.m. The plane is registered to a Merritt Island-based LLC. The FAA said the pilot reported “engine issues” before the forced landing.
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Cop was there before the plane came to a full stop! That’s service!
That no one was seriously hurt is almost unbelievable. I mean, right on top of the car roof!! Would love to hear how they report this to insurance.
“Yeah, so a plane landed on the roof of my car”
“right…what really happened?”
“Really. Seriously! Right on top, like I could see the propellers right next to me”
“Okay sir, so you say a plane landed on top of your car, landing speed for a twin engine airplane is over 70 mph, sir, were you speeding at the time? That will impact your insurance”.
Then think about the poor pilot. He buys an expensive *twin* because all pilots know, two engines better then one and yet “ pilot reported “engine issues” before the forced landing” BOTH engines had issues?
Maybe we need to reconsider the idea of the old Ford trimotor (psssttt…I got to fly one for 30 minutes)) because 3 engines better then 2?
It is well that no one was seriously hurt, but as less space becomes available around airports for emergencies, it is sad to think more of these interactions may occur.
And wow, with the freeway wide open on his side except for that car, he was able to hit it precisely, like the spot on the runway at Oshkosh.
It looks to me like the pilot was hoping to land in front of the car but ran out of airspeed, hit hard just behind it, and essentially bounced over it. That would account for the relatively minor amount of crushing that the car displays.
All things considered, a successful emergency landing: No one was seriously hurt, and a Baron owner probably has enough insurance to make everyone whole.
When I first started flying 30 years ago I made a commitment that I was not going to land on a road if there was a chance of killing someone else. I feel it’s a risk we take as pilots and an obligation.
The fact that no one was killed is a miracle and does not justify this pilot’s selfish decision, IMO.
They don’t call them “freeways” in Fla, just saying.
Uh, what do they call them? We used to have a place in Florida and called them freeways so technically some people in Florida do call them freeways:)
Interstate, Only folks who moved to Fla from somewhere else call them Freeways. I-95, I= Interstate, not Freeway
I call them freeways and I live relatively closer to Russ than you do, so I’ll give one a pass. I think it’s a west coast/east coast thing. On the northeast they are turnpikes!
Yeah, nobody around here (New England) says “freeway” but they only say “turnpike” when referring to a highway officially so named and “interstate” for other highways with the red, white and blue signs, otherwise any limited-access roadway is more generically a “highway.” YMMV
I lived in Calif when the “Freeways” were all built. Although I’m long gone from there now, they will always be Freeways.
Lets call this one a “big roadway with too many cars on it for a Baron to land without hitting a taxpayer”. Can’t go wrong with that one.
I grew up in Maine and live in Florida. I have lived in Mass, CO, AZ, and KS. Turnpikes mean there are tolls one has to pay to drive on them; freeways are “free”- paid for by tax funds. That’s my reality and sticking to it!
Probably lots of fuel on board. A wonder there was no fire and three or more fatalities. Be interesting to find out what the “engine trouble” was.
Or perhaps there was no fuel onboard?
Exhaustion, starvation, or possibly a fuel problem. 😉