Date: 29-MAR-16
Time: 12:56:00Z
Regis#: N54TA
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA28R
Event Type: Incident
Highest Injury: None
Damage: Unknown
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
FAA Flight Standards District Office: FAA Greensboro FSDO-39
City: RALEIGH
State: North Carolina
AIRCRAFT FORCE LANDED ON A HIGHWAY NEAR RALEIGH-DURHAM AIRPORT, RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA.
Bill WoodyRALEIGH, N.C. — A Raleigh pilot who landed his plane on Interstate 540 near Leesville Road Tuesday morning said the experience is not going to keep him from flying in the future.
No injuries were reported Tuesday morning when William Woody's single-engine airplane made what authorities called a "textbook" emergency landing on I-540 in north Raleigh.
According to radio traffic between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Woody,, the plane had no oil pressure shortly after taking off from RDU at about 8:51 a.m.
RDU cleared Woody to fly back to the airport. Three minutes later, at 8:54, Woody declared an emergency. A minute after that, he told officials he had lost the engine and would not make it back to the runway.
"I wound up informing the tower that I would be unable to make the runway, declared an emergency, and told them I was going to have to put it down on the highway," Woody said.
Just before 9 a.m., commuters on westbound I-540 saw the plane land off the shoulder of the highway.
Woody was not hurt, according to RDU. The plane was a 1975 Piper Arrow, a single-engine plane registered to Woody.
Woody, who has been flying for about three years, said he woke up Tuesday morning intending to go on a practice flight to Virginia and then return home.
"I just had a bunch of repairs done on the airplane and figured it's a nice day to go for a flight," he said.
As the plane began to experience issues, Woody said he was able to remain calm and focus on the procedures he learned during the training to obtain his pilot's license. As he approached I-540, he said his main focus was on maintaining the correct speed and lining the plane up with the road for a safe landing. One of the most important lessons Woody recalled was that, in the event of a highway landing, a pilot should lower the plane slowly so drivers have time to react.
"I wasn't thinking about the drivers because I trusted that if I'm coming in about the same speed as the drivers are driving, that they'll be able to see me and I'm trusting the training to put me on the ground safely," he said.
Woody said that many drivers told him they saw the plane approaching the interstate and slowed down or stopped to make room for him.
"I'm very fortunate that they did that because it could have been a lot worse," Woody said.
After the plane landed, many drivers also exited their vehicles to make sure Woody wasn't hurt.
Eric Curry, with Wake County's emergency management department, said Woody was sitting on the wing of the plane when emergency responders arrived at the scene.
"According to the firemen, they credit the pilot for making such a difficult landing without causing any harm or injuries," Curry said. "This was a textbook landing."
Woody said the plane landed on the road before sliding sideways into the grassy shoulder. Authorities said there were no fuel leaks following the incident.
Authorities shut down the westbound lanes of I-540 following the incident. The highway was cleared at about 2:15 p.m.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport officials tweeted about the incident, saying that local law enforcement agencies were assisting with the investigation. Air traffic at the airport, which is in Morrisville, was not affected.
Story, video and photo gallery: http://www.wral.com
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – A small plane landed on the shoulder of Interstate 540 near Leesville Road in Raleigh Tuesday morning and officials credit the pilot with making a “textbook” landing, preventing injury to himself and others.
During a news briefing Tuesday morning, Andrew Sawyer with Raleigh-Durham International Airport Authority said shortly before 9 a.m., a single-engine aircraft took off from RDU. Shortly after departure, Sawyer said the pilot radioed back and reported having mechanical issues and asked for an emergency landing.
In radio traffic released by LiveATC.net, pilot Bill Woody reported “almost no oil pressure at this time” soon after taking off.
After Woody reported the oil pressure had dropped to zero, he told air traffic control he is going to land on the road.
“I see the freeway, I see the lake. I’m going to try to coast in as close as I can to the runway, but I might be landing on the freeway,” Woody said.
Sawyer said the pilot was given clearance to land on any runway he needed to and that emergency vehicles were on standby.
“Not gonna make the runway. I’m going to have to go down on the freeway,” the pilot said.
Shortly after the radio call, Sawyer said they were made aware that the plane had landed along I-540.
The plane could be seen off to the side of the road on a North Carolina Department of Transportation camera during the morning commute.
“You train for that. Weirdly. You spend when you learn to fly, you spend maybe 10 learning to take off, 10 hours learning about theory and you spend some time learning to land. And you spend the majority of the time learning emergency procedures,” Woody said. “The thought that went through my mind was I didn’t think I’d have to do this in real life but we practice for that all the time.”
Woody, a software developer, moved from Los Angeles about a year ago.
The incident impacted traffic in the westbound lanes as emergency crews and law enforcement officers were on scene.
Raleigh police said Woody was the only person on board at the time of the incident.
The plane is a fixed single-engine PA-28R-200 manufactured by Piper, according to registration records. Registration records list the co-owner as Bill Woody.
Wake County Spokesman Eric Curry said when emergency crews arrived on the scene, Woody was sitting on the wing of the plane. EMS checked him out and he appeared to be OK.
Curry categorized the landing as “textbook” in regards to the situation. Curry, as well as emergency crews, credited the pilot with making such a difficult landing without causing harm to himself or any drivers on I-540 Tuesday morning.
As protocol, the FAA is investigating the incident.
Story, video and photo gallery: http://wncn.com
RALEIGH -- A small plane came down on Interstate 540 at the Leesville Road exit just before 9 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Officials at Raleigh-Durham International Airport said the pilot of the fixed wing single-engine Piper radioed in a mechanical problem and requested to return to RDU shortly after taking off from the airport.
The pilot told officials that his plane had no oil pressure and his engine cut out just before he made an emergency landing on the highway.
"I'm going to try to get as close to the runway as I can, but I might be putting it down on the freeway ... Not going to be able to make the runway. I'm putting it down on the freeway over here."
The aircraft ended up on the median of I-540 right at the Leesville exit.
The plane suffered a bent propeller and other damage, but no fire and leaks were reported.
The pilot was not injured. When officials arrived at the scene, they found him sitting on the wing, and credited him with making a difficult "textbook" landing along the interstate.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration's website, the plane is registered to a Raleigh couple.
Traffic was backed up in the area. Authorities had 540 westbound closed at Creedmoor and Leesville and were detouring drivers.
Federal investigators are working to determine what happened.
Story, video and photo gallery: http://abc11.com
RALEIGH, N.C. — No injuries were reported Tuesday morning when a single-engine airplane made what authorities called a "textbook" emergency landing on Interstate 540 near Leesville Road in north Raleigh.
According to radio traffic between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and the pilot, the plane had no oil pressure shortly after taking off from RDU at about 8:51 a.m.
RDU cleared the pilot to fly back to the airport. Three minutes later, at 8:54, the pilot declared an emergency. A minute after that, the pilot told officials he had lost the engine and would not make it back to the runway.
Just before 9 a.m., commuters on westbound I-540 saw the plane land off the shoulder of the highway.
The pilot was not hurt, according to RDU. The plane is a 1975 Piper Arrow, a single-engine plane registered to William Woody, of Raleigh.
Eric Curry, with Wake County's emergency management department, said the pilot was sitting on the wing of the plane when emergency responders arrived at the scene.
"According to the firemen, they credit the pilot for making such a difficult landing without causing any harm or injuries," Curry said. "This was a textbook landing."
When asked how he was able to make the landing, the pilot simply replied "good training"
It's unclear if the plane landed on the highway first and then slid onto the shoulder. Authorities said there were no fuel leaks following the incident.
Authorities shut down the westbound lanes of I-540 following the incident. The highway was cleared at about 2:15 p.m.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport officials tweeted about the incident, saying that local law enforcement agencies were assisting with the investigation. Air traffic at the airport, which is in Morrisville, was not affected.
Andrew Sawyer, a spokesman for RDU, said airport emergency responded to the scene to assist local law enforcement agencies. He said the Federal Aviation Administration would investigate the cause of the plane's problems and then remove the plane from the shoulder of I-540.
Sawyer said that could happen as early as Tuesday afternoon.
"The aircraft will be removed and take back to the airport," he said.
Story, video and photo gallery: http://www.wral.com
Authorities give update on I-540 plane landing: http://www.wral.com/video
RALEIGH -- A single-engine airplane with mechanical trouble made an emergency landing on Interstate 540 north of Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Tuesday morning, multiple agencies reported.
State troopers, Raleigh police, Wake County sheriff’s deputies rushed to the highway near the Leesville Road exit about 9 a.m.
Police closed I-540 westbound at Leesville Road to keep vehicles away from the plane, a Piper PA-28R-200 Arrow II.
There were no reports of injuries.
Information from controllers indicated that the plane is owned by a Raleigh resident, William Woody.
The plane stopped on the right shoulder of the interstate with its engine facing the pavement.
The pilot had told controllers that the plane lost oil pressure.
It was not immediately know who was piloting the aircraft.
Story, video and photo gallery: http://www.newsobserver.com
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