MAITLAND, Fla. – Maitland police released the name of the man who was hit by an airplane on his way home last Thursday.
Michael Stokes told News 6 that he was simply driving home Thursday evening, heading east on Maitland Boulevard near I-4, when he was shocked to see a plane had hit the back of his car.
Stokes said that he first thought he had been hit by an SUV, but then looked in his review mirror to see it was actually a plane.
He said he first called his fiancee, telling her that he was OK, and then told her to turn on the news.
Stokes said he was told that the pilot had 15 years of flying experience, which he credits for being able to walk away from the crash unharmed.
The pilot was heard on radio transmission that he had run out of gas 11 miles from Orlando's Executive Airport.
Stokes also said that he had an interesting call to his car insurance company, when explaining that a plane had fell from the sky, hitting his car. He said said at first even the insurance agent wasn't sure what category the crash would even fall under. He said that he told the agent to simply Google the terms "I-4 plane," and that was enough to explain the situation.
Stokes said that he believes the pilot's extensive experience kept him alive.
Maitland police also said at the time that given the rush hour traffic, the situation could have been a lot worse.