Plane low on fuel lands on business-lined road in Arizona, flips over
May 30, 2018, 6:14 AM | Updated: 6:19 am
(Prescott Police Department)
(Prescott Police Department)
PHOENIX — Three people aboard a small plane survived an emergency landing on a business-lined road in Prescott on Tuesday night, officials said.
A Malibu Piper en route from the Los Angeles area to the Prescott Municipal Airport landed on Iron Springs Road after the pilot indicated the aircraft was low on fuel, the Prescott Police Department said in a news release.
The pilot and two passengers were taken to Yavapai Regional Medical Center to be treated for injuries that weren’t life threatening. Their current condition was not reported.
The single-prop plane rolled onto its roof during the landing and had a wing sheared off, possibly from striking a light pole.
“It was a remarkable landing considering the extreme circumstances, landing at night on a road that has some curves to it,” airport director Robin Sobotta told The Daily Courier. “We are very, very relieved that the outcome was no major injuries and no fatalities.”
One vehicle was rear-ended when it stopped on the road during the incident; nobody in the car crash was injured.
At approximately 9:12 p.m., officials at the Prescott airport notified the police department they had gotten word from the incoming plane that it was low on fuel and might need to make an emergency landing.
Initially, it was thought the aircraft would try to land in the area of State Routes 89 and 69. But it ended up touching down near the 1500 block of Iron Springs Road, which is lined with restaurants and other businesses and is surrounded by residential homes.
