ORMOND BEACH, Fla. – The small plane that landed on Interstate 75 in Gainesville Thursday had the best emergency runway to land on, considering the other options.
The general manager of Sunrise Aviation Flight School, Patrick Murphy, said a young flight instructor and student were on their way back to Ormond Beach from the Gainesville area, when the engine started to fail.
As the engine quickly failed, the flight became very turbulent.
"He was talking to Gainesville tower, telling them he'd hoped to make it and then finally told them 'Well, I'm not going to make it,'" Murphy said.
The flight instructor took control, tracking I-75 as the next option at 2,500 feet with a gliding range of 3 to 4 miles.
"If you land on the interstate, your problem is not the guys behind you, it's the people in front of you who might see you in their mirror," Murphy said. "Some people would hit the brakes so be ready to try and divert around. But, it just worked out beautifully."
The flight instructor taxied the Cessna plane to the side of the road and no one was injured.
Murphy said the instructor graduated from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and the student is from India and was working on finishing his private pilot license.
"This was a good flying day and in a way, a good instructional day. Because, this is what, really, we teach. He did a great job," Murphy said.
The plane returned to Sunrise Aviation as the FAA continues to investigate the emergency landing. Murphy said it's very rare for these planes to have complete engine failure.