wsbt.com/news/wsbt-south-bend-plane-makes-emergency-landing-in-missouri-20111211,0,1570280.story
By Clifton French (cfrench@wsbt.com)Click here to follow Clifton on Twitter
8:22 PM EST, December 11, 2011
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A weekend getaway took an unexpected turn for a group of people from Michiana. A small plane leaving the Mishawaka Pilots Club was forced to make an emergency landing in Springfield, Missouri Saturday. The aircraft ran out of gas during its final approach to the Springfield airport at around 2:30 Saturday afternoon. The single engine plane was forced to land on a four lane highway 10 miles from the airport. "As they approached the highway was on their descent. The plane completely ran out of gas and they were having to maneuver around powerlines and moving traffic. The pilot was able to avoid those and safely land on the ground," Sgt. Jason Pace, Missouri Highway Patrol said. Maneuvering through power lines and traffic, the pilot landed safely without causing any damage to his plane, cars or his passengers. "At first we thought maybe he was kidding," Passenger and friend of the pilot, Virginia Olson said, "But he actually stayed very calm and he did a great job and we're all very grateful." The four people on board were not injured. They later refueled and took off from the highway. The airplane is owned by Mishawaka Air Activities, a club and airplane rental service that runs out of the Mishawaka Air Club. The FAA is investigating the incident.
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