Bellanca Viking lands on I-35W in MN on 12/2/2020

Looks like he was doing fine until the car in front of him slammed on its brakes.

Once again the term "crash lands" is liberally applied to a successful off-airport emergency landing. The pilot grabbed it by the throat and did everything correctly. He deserves plaudits for that.
 
3393RP said:
Looks like he was doing fine until the car in front of him slammed on its brakes.
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Yeah, no kidding. Hey, a plane is gaining on us from behind, we better slam on the brakes!

Idiot.
 
Too fast on final....:rolleyes:

Who says the car even knew there was an airplane landing behind him.?? Most folks I know (except close friends) do not even know what the rear view mirror is supposed to be used for. Even I certainly don't expect something to be overtaking me from behind and above me out of sight of the inside rear view mirror.

 
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Bill said:
Idiot
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Lots of people don't actually think when they drive. At the first sign of distress they slam on the brakes even if it's not the correct action. You see morons do this when they're trying to merge onto a highway, instead of matching their velocity with that of the traffic flow they slow and stop and sit there in fear causing a traffic jam behind them
 
Bill said:
Yeah, no kidding. Hey, a plane is gaining on us from behind, we better slam on the brakes!

Idiot.
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This incident is being discussed over on the Viking Pilots forum. The pilot is a member. One has to remember that it was dark, and the driver of the car saw the flashing strobes and landing/taxi lights and thought it was an emergency vehicle needing to pass. Putting on the brakes prior to pulling off the road is a natural thing to do in that situation. I might do something similar.
 
My wife, who doesn't know much about GA flying, just sent me the link to the article. She commented how amazing the landing was. She said, "That pilot must have had nerves of steel... " I agree. Flew it all the way down and never quit. Good job. I hope to heaven I am never in a similar situation, but if I am, I hope I do as well as this pilot. Great job.
 
Deelee said:
My wife, who doesn't know much about GA flying, just sent me the link to the article. She commented how amazing the landing was. She said, "That pilot must have had nerves of steel... " I agree. Flew it all the way down and never quit. Good job. I hope to heaven I am never in a similar situation, but if I am, I hope I do as well as this pilot. Great job.
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Agree, awesome job, getting it in between the jersey barrier and the light posts. That's a win right there!
 
3393RP said:
Looks like he was doing fine until the car in front of him slammed on its brakes.

Once again the term "crash lands" is liberally applied to a successful off-airport emergency landing. The pilot grabbed it by the throat and did everything correctly. He deserves plaudits for that.
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Well, he did hit a car, so there was a crash, even if it wasn't his fault.

Yes, someone hitting the brakes is dumb, but 99% of drivers just don't know what to do except to instinctively hit the brakes when something weird happens. If it helps, I've seen someone coming down a mountain with a runaway truck behind them hit the brakes. The truck passed me, then had to swerve when the next car up panicked. Those runaway truck ramp are spectacular to see.
 
bflynn said:
Those runaway truck ramp are spectacular to see.
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They are. Where space allows, they're long and gently sloped upward with deep, soft gravel to bring the truck to a gentle stop.

Where space doesn't allow, they look like a near-vertical launch ramp.
 
Already a YouTube Video about this with a focus on the pilot. His other plane is an Extra, and he’s on the US unlimited aerobatic team.

 
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End result about as good as it gets. I know I limit my single engine night flying, and when I do I like to keep near highways just in case. They are your best chance of an off airport landing in the dark if needed.

Goes back to the old joke, how do you decide where to land in the dark if the engine quits. When you get low turn on your landing light. If you like what you see land. If you don't like what you see, turn off the light.
 
I’ve driven enough in Minneapolis to suspect that the driver might have hit the brakes just because she didn’t want anyone to be able to merge into her lane. I wouldn’t rank the Twin Cities in the upper percentiles of driver politeness or skill.

Regardless of why the plane and car collided, it sounds from this video like the pilot was an absolute class act and had a bit of skill and a bit of luck come together for him. He got to the freeway surface without hitting any of the lights, touched down at freeway speed with a healthy buffer between cars ahead and behind, and apologized to the drivers whose day got a lot weirder as a result. I would probably not be so cool about it if I made a perfect emergency landing only to have my plane smashed into a concrete barricade by a car.

Thanks to @jimhorner for the link to the video.
 
Wrench978 said:
It doesnt look like she hit the brakes until after the plane hit her? am I missing something?
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Truthfully, if there is any blame to pass around I would give most of it to the airplane. The only thing the lady in the car did wrong was to be unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
 
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