Plane makes emergency landing, takes off from Spokane freeway
SPOKANE, Wash. - A plane made an emergency landing on a Spokane freeway Saturday, and later took off from the same stretch of road.
The Washington State Patrol (WSP) says two people, a trainee pilot and senior co-pilot, were in the plane when it touched down on the North Spokane Corridor. Luckily, no one was injured in the incident.
1248 WSP troopers at the scene of a plane that emergency landed on NSC between Wellesley MP 161, and Freya. Traffic exiting at Freya. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/vO6UaIp7Tp
— District 4 PIO Riddell / Jackson (@wspd4pio) May 18, 2024
WSP says the plane ran out of fuel in one tank and failed to switch to the second tank, prompting the emergency landing.
The plane landed on a construction site along the corridor, though there were no construction crews near the temporary landing strip.
After some time, it was determined that the plane had enough space and fuel to take off from the freeway. After giving the all clear, the plane departed, and all lanes of the freeway reopened.
We have a saying at WSDOT that “You can’t make this stuff up.”
I never thought I’d see the North Spokane Corridor double as a runway!
All lanes are back open! pic.twitter.com/6PiKk0MLHt— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) May 18, 2024
WSP also said there was no damage to the plane or the area where it landed.
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