Pilot makes emergency landing on Veterans Memorial Tollway near Bolingbrook
BOLINGBROOK, Ill. - A pilot was uninjured when a small plane made an emergency landing Tuesday afternoon on the Veterans Memorial Tollway in Will County.
The pilot was flying a white single-engine Beechcraft G33 from Middleton, Wisconsin, to Brookeridge Airpark Airport in Downers Grove when the plane started experiencing troubles at about 2 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane landed on the right shoulder of southbound Interstate 355 at milepost 13.7 near Bolingbrook, according to Illinois State Police.
Police said the plane did not strike any vehicles or fixed objects on the ground, and nobody was injured.
Small plane lands on interstate in suburban Chicago
A small plane made an emergency landing on the Veterans Memorial Tollway near Bolingbrook Tuesday afternoon. The small plane landed on the right shoulder of southbound Interstate 355 near Interstate 55 as emergency crews assisted, according to Illinois State Police.
The plane was in the air for about 48 minutes, according to FltPlan.com, which tracks flights.
In a Facebook post, the Bolingbrook Fire Department said, "Just another day doing what we do. This pilot did a fantastic job landing on I-355 after an engine failure."
"From all accounts from having driven past and the condition of the airplane it looked like the pilot made a perfect landing," said Dan Magner, Assistant Chief Pilot with Lewis University.
He says pilots train for these types of impromptu landings even from the start of their training.
"It's not like there's going to be any sort of violations or anything for the pilot," said Magner.
The scene was clear by 6:30 p.m. as crews lifted the airplane onto a flatbed trailer and drove it away.
The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.