Time: 15:40:00Z
Regis#: N39PS
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 182
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: None
Flight Phase: UNKNOWN (UNK)
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Greensboro FSDO-39
City: LEXINGTON
State: North Carolina
AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED ON A HIGHWAY, NEAR LEXINGTON, NC
http://registry.faa.gov/N39PS
LEXINGTON, N.C. -- The pilot who made an emergency landing on Business 85 Monday afternoon will soon receive a bill in the mail.
Pilot Cliff Evans said unknown engine trouble on his small airplane forced him to land on the highway. The plane was going about 65 miles per hour when he landed in a grassy median, then crossed two lanes of traffic before stopping on the shoulder.
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Evans will receive an invoice to cover the cost of assistance from the DOT. A department representative said the cost will include eight employees, six trucks, putting up advance warning signs and diverting traffic for four and a half hours. The representative said the bill could be up to $3,000.
The NC DOT has had a long standing policy to bill people who destroy state property on state-maintained roads or require assistance from DOT workers.
Did you know you could be billed if you get into an accident on a state-owned road? Hit a guard rail? Take out a highway sign or a light? Expect to get a bill to pay for it. The representative said motorist insurance usually covers the cost.
The department said it tries to recover the cost it incurs from crashes.
If you think that's bad, consider this. Some agencies nationwide are charging for much more.
For example, in Sacramento, California, the Metro Fire Department charges a $275 first responder fee for every 911 EMS call.
Some police departments even charge up to $100 to respond to and fill out traffic crash reports.
In Indianapolis, local media reported a couple years ago that a married couple received a $28,000 bill after their house went up in flames. The fire department sent the itemized bill for labor and equipment, and included the water firefighters drank at the scene and refilling their oxygen tanks.
As you can imagine, the idea is not very popular.
"The people that receive these bills have either not payed them or said 'sorry, this is why I pay my taxes, why should I pay you a fee for something that should be considered to be a municipal service,'" said Steve Alldredge, of the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
There are dozens of municipalities nationwide that charge what's called accident response fees. Outside of the DOT, we haven't been able to find any in North Carolina that charge a fee like this.
- Source: http://www.wfmynews2.com
DAVIDSON, NC -- On Monday, a small airplane had to make an emergency landing on Business 85 near Lexington. The pilot is not exactly sure what caused the engine trouble that forced him to land.
“Started having issues with the plane, started acting up," Cliff Evans said, the pilot. "Tried to make it to the airport over here and unfortunately couldn’t make it.”
Evans was on his way to Siler City from Dayton, Tennessee when the plane started having issues. So, he detoured to the Davidson County Airport. But, when he couldn't make it, he started looking for another safe place to land.
“Lucky, I guess. I found the least busy road, on the opposite side was a lot of oncoming traffic," Evans said.
The plane was going about 65 miles per hour when he landed in a grassy median, then crossed two lanes of traffic before stopping on the shoulder.
“First communication was that the plane had made an emergency landing on the highway and that there were no injuries and my first thought was, 'Man, we were very lucky,'” Lexington Fire Chief Phillip Hartley said.
Hartley said this is the first time in nearly three decades at the fire department that he's seen something like this.
“27 years and yes, this is the first time I’ve seen one land on the highway," Chief Hartley said. "To say he would count his blessings and consider himself very lucky.”
The airplane made a safe landing, and there is no damage visible damage to the aircraft. Also, no one was injured in the incident including Evans, his two passengers or any drivers on the highway.
“You don’t panic and a lot of people have a tendency to panic. It can become a bad situation real fast between power lines and cars and things like that," Evans said.
Evans said he and his friends were flying to Siler City to pick up a vehicle. Instead, the Hummer ended up getting delivered to them on the side of the highway where they landed with the plane. Originally, crews tried to load the plane on the back of a tow truck, but when it wouldn't fit, they used the Hummer to tow it less than two miles to the airport.
"It’s an experience. But you train for it, I mean, you train for it," Evans said.
Evans plans to have the plane checked out Tuesday at the Davidson County Airport to make sure it's safe before he flies back to Tennessee.
“From here you have to fly over the Smokies, a lot of mountains, nowhere to land," he said.
Evans has been a pilot for four years and said he's never had anything like this happen.
Story, video and photo gallery: http://www.wfmynews2.com
The pilot made the emergency landing on I-85 in Davidson County after he lost power.
Investigators said the plane, which was coming from Tennessee, lost power just two miles away from its destination in Siler City.
The pilot, Cliff Evans, tried guiding the plane onto the runway but couldn't make it, so he tried landing just off the highway -- all while avoiding power lines and a business park.
"You can't panic,” Evans said. “You just gotta keep your mind on flying the plane. A lot of people panic and that's not a good thing."
A tow truck couldn't move the plane off the highway so the driver of a passing Hummer volunteered to move the plane off the interstate.
Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the power failure.
- Story, video and photo gallery: http://www.wsoctv.com
DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — No one was injured after a small plane landed on a Davidson County highway Monday.
The incident was reported around 3:15 p.m. on Business 85 near Hargrave Road, Interstate 85 and the Davidson County Airport. Three people were onboard the plane at the time of the landing.
A lane of Bus. 85 was closed due to the incident.
The Cessna 182L Skylane is registered to Cliff Evans of Dayton, Tenn., about 40 miles northeast of Chattanooga. Evans said he was flying from Dayton to Siler City when the plane started sputtering.
Evans said he tried to land at the airport but used his pilot training to land on the freeway after realizing he couldn't make the airport. Evans said he's been a pilot for 4 years.
Story, comments and photo: http://www.wxii12.com
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