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Plane Makes Emergency Landing On City Street

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A small plane had to make an emergency landing on Little Blue Parkway in Independence, Mo., early Thursday morning. The plane landed safely in the middle of Little Blue Parkway at 39th Street around 2 a.m. (www.kmbc.com) More...

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franksd2
Excellent job, and at 2 am.
sheka
mark tufts 0
that is what i call a level headed pilot considering the emegerency. he should be commended
rwf1001
Robert Fleming 0
great job by the pilot....not to hit anything in total darkness...congrats to him....better to land it on a street than crash it into a house!
weatherman04
weatherman04 0
The pilot did really well. The terrain in that area isn't favorable at all. There is a big hospital and shopping mall nearby, and lots of hills, a river and lots of trees. Here's a map of the area: [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=39th+street+and+little+blue+parkway+independence+mo&aq=&sll=39.047652,-94.33975&sspn=0.011848,0.01929&gl=us&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=E+39th+St+S+%26+S+Little+Blue+Pkwy,+Independence,+Jackson,+Missouri+64057&ll=39.047452,-94.340672&spn=0.011848,0.01929&t=h&z=16]
amarshan
Amar Shan 0
At night, there's not a whole lot of choice but to land on a lit highway. Everything else just looks black - you have no idea whether you're landing on a field or water or a forest!

An engine failure at night is much more serious than one during the daylight hours ... and he did well to set the plane down with minimal damage.

Of course, the question is why did the engine quit? Fuel starvation is the most common cause ... and I think I might do rather less applauding if it turns out he simply ran out of gas!
weatherman04
weatherman04 0
@Amar, We will find out more once the FAA releases their report. I do know that the weather conditions quickly changed in that area yesterday. It was clear, sunny and mid-60's during the day, then a cold front moved in with temps dipping into the low 30's. Thunderstorms moved through the area between 10pm-2am and the humidity and pressure changed quite rapidly after dark.

The plane was built in 1978 and was possibly not maintained well enough. It is also owned by Flight Express, which has routes between Kansas City and Saint Louis daily, as well as between Kansas City and other Midwestern cities.
squawk7500td
squawk7500td 0
@ Amar, Fuel starvation is a pretty ridiculous possibility considering it's a 90 minute flight (with 4 hr tanks). This company does not hire "weekend warrior" pilots who would be more likely to run out of gas.

@ weatherman04, You obviously know more about weather than aviation. I doubt you know anything about Flight Express or the maintenance. Flightaware.com geeks are not impressive. These 1978 airplanes perform better than your 1978 jalopy.
weatherman04
weatherman04 0
@squawk7500td, I actaully suggested that as one possibility because I personally know someone who piloted for Flight Express, but quit, citing concerns over maintenance. I would hope that isn't true, of course, but I wanted to voice that, given the circumstances.
murrellp
murrellp 0
Chalk up another one for " get rid of those small planes, they are crashing all the time " folks.
dmanuel
dmanuel 0
Murrellp - Have you been flying above 14,000 feet, for long periods of time, without supplemental oxygen?
Wingscrubber
Wingscrubber 0
Somebody give that man a cigar - amazing job, tore up the left wing a bit, but probably repairable. Might fly again?
murrellp
murrellp 0
Dmanuel -
No, but I read the Aviation news, what's your noted opinion on the private that went down in Queensland today ?

Good Day
Oh, I don't need to show my smarts by making Dumb A-- remarks
squawk7500td
squawk7500td 0
@weatherman04, As a pilot for Flight Express I will say this. Engines fail due to mechanical failure without warning. It just happens.

@wingscrubber, Pretty sure it will fly again.
weatherman04
weatherman04 0
@squawk7500td, to be perfectly clear, my initial comment about a maintenance-related issue was simply to offer a suggestion other than pilot error (i.e. low fuel). The bulk of my experience comes from C-130H’s in St. Joe, and I know that sometimes weather can create problems for an engine that seems to be running perfectly sound. That is why I detailed the weather conditions from that evening. The only other reason I mentioned maintenance is simply because of what the former Flight Express pilot told me were his reasons for quitting. I think we are getting away from the main issue though, which is that the pilot was able to make a safe landing and lives to fly another day.
squawk7500td
squawk7500td 0
The weather-related engine problem bit is quite far-fetched considering the much worse conditions we fly in. People have quit in the past because they were not cut out for this type of flying. I've never heard of a pilot quitting over maintenance. It was probably an excuse.
I would suggest waiting to read the official reports instead of posting crap about a company you know nothing about. I can suggest some companies with poor maintenance so you can go talk about them if you'd like?
Good day

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