A small airplane landed on Illinois Route 17 on Saturday night near Bonfield after running low on fuel while flying from Kansas to Indiana.
The plane landed cleanly around 10:15 p.m. near the intersection at 8000W Road.
"It was a picture-perfect landing," said Herscher Fire Chief Alan Ramsey. "Nobody was injured and there wasn't any damage. A few people just pushed the aircraft off into a grassy area to clear the roadway."
The pilot, Quinn Bowers, a flight instructor from McPhearson, Kan., told The Daily Journal he was on his way to Goshen, Ind. to see his best friend graduate from Goshen College, a Christian liberal arts institution in the northern part of the state. He was piloting a 1979 Beechcraft Musketeer, a single engine prop airplane he had borrowed from a fellow pilot.
He told The Daily Journal he lost the engine after miscalculating fuel and was attempting to reach Greater Kankakee Airport on a glide. But he lost altitude too quickly and was unable to see the airport in the dark. Moonlight eventually revealed the strip of highway below where he could land.
"I don't know the area. I've never flown over it before," Bowers said. "I'm thankful everything turned out as well as it did."
After landing he was assisted by fire and law enforcement personnel. The airplane was towed to Koerner Aviation and given some fuel. He then landed at Greater Kankakee Airport and topped off his fuel tank before departing.
Kankakee County Undersheriff Mike Downey said the miscalculation in fuel appears to be the cause of the premature landing. Illinois State Police troopers initially investigated the landing, and the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate further.
"Fortunately nobody was hurt, but it's not every day that you see a plane landing on a highway," Downey said.
Bowers said he didn't make it to Goshen in time for the graduation ceremony, but was able to visit with some friends.
"I got to see some of the friends I wanted to see," Bowers said. "It wasn't a total loss."
Original article can be found here: http://www.daily-journal.com
Regis#: N2371W
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: 23
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: None
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
FAA FSDO: FAA W. Chicago-DuPage (NON Part 121) FSDO-03
City: KANKAKEE
State: Illinois
AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED ON A ROAD 8 MILES FROM KANKAKEE, IL
http://registry.faa.govN2371W
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