One person was injured after a small aircraft made an emergency landing on a busy Florida highway, colliding with a vehicle during rush-hour traffic, authorities said.
The incident occurred at around 5:45 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, in the southbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Brevard County. According to local media reports citing the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) and Brevard County Fire Rescue, the plane was forced to land on the roadway before striking a car.
Officials identified the aircraft as a fixed-wing, multi-engine Beechcraft 55. There were two people onboard — a 27-year-old male pilot and a 27-year-old male passenger — neither of whom was injured.
The vehicle involved was a 2023 Toyota Camry driven by a 57-year-old woman. She sustained minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, authorities said.
Images from the scene show the small aircraft stopped across multiple lanes of the highway, with visible damage to its front section. The Toyota Camry suffered heavy damage, particularly to its rear and sides, following the collision.
Officials have not yet released details about what caused the plane to make the emergency landing. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will lead the investigation into the aircraft incident, while the Florida Highway Patrol will investigate the vehicle collision.
Following the crash, a section of I-95 near the 201-mile marker was closed to traffic as emergency crews worked at the scene. The affected lanes were reopened several hours later.
The incident was one of two small plane emergencies reported in Florida on the same day. Earlier on Dec. 8, a Cessna 172 made an emergency landing on Jacobs Road in DeLand, about 74 kilometers north of Orlando.
Two people onboard that aircraft were taken to hospital with injuries and were reported to be conscious after the landing. A local bystander told media he observed the plane flying unusually low before the incident, estimating it was “about 100 feet off the ground.”
Investigations into both incidents are ongoing.
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