Near miss U.S. 60 in Arizona, stalling plane almost takes out family driving on highway

[MFE]

Small plane goes down on US 60 near Superior

No one is hurt after a small plane went down on an eastern Arizona highway Sunday afternoon.

www.azfamily.com

Dashcam video from the family's truck is crazy:

Mesa family nearly hit by small plane during emergency landing near Superior

A Valley family’s Mother’s Day drive home turned into a terrifying near miss when a small plane landed on US 60 right in front of them.

www.azfamily.com

 

[Lindberg]

Did the pilot not know how to work the clutch?

 

[ionel]

A "stalling" plane? Almost takes out family? How much does a C 152 weigh?

 

[John Spartan]

108 degrees that day. Not a bird I’d wanna fly. The pilot must have been a student because they missed an easy turn to the right to land with traffic and appear to fail at best glide and pancaked the bird. I guess they didn’t die so that’s a success.

 

[MauleSkinner]

A "stalling" plane? Almost takes out family? How much does a C 152 weigh?

If I recall the bumper sticker correctly, it’s 1670 pounds of screaming death.

 

[bonefishpete]

Looks like maybe an Acrobat 150?

 

[Dana]

Looks like maybe an Acrobat 150?

Looks like an Aerobat from the paint job.

 

[Katamarino]

Maybe I'm crazy, but if landing on a road I think I would choose to land with traffic instead of against it.

 

[John Spartan]

I’ve watched it a couple of times now. The way he essentially just stopped flying at the end and smashed the road. Makes me wonder if he wasn’t riding the stall horn in the whole way down. Maybe that last 15° of turn wasn’t a possibility.

 

[geezer]

Truck driver was a little slow in going for the empty other side of 60

 

[flyingron]

Did the pilot not know how to work the clutch?

Obviously, this is what caused the plane to stall.

 

[Rockymountain]

That guy driving the truck saved a lot of lives. That plane may not weigh very much, but even at 1600 pounds with a closing speed of 130 miles an hour can be lethal for all involved.

 

[Kenny Phillips]

A "stalling" plane? Almost takes out family? How much does a C 152 weigh?

A rolling 152 can cause devastation. Near me, an out-of-gas C152 landed on a highway. No fire, three dead.

 

[Lindberg]

Obviously, this is what caused the plane to stall.

And obviously, stalling is what caused it to be on the highway.

 

[Dana]

And obviously, stalling is what caused it to be on the highway.

It does look like stalling is what caused it to be on the wrong side of the highway.

 

[ionel]

A rolling 152 can cause devastation. Near me, an out-of-gas C152 landed on a highway. No fire, three dead.

Were the 3 in a newer auto with airbag etc system?

 

[Kenny Phillips]

Were the 3 in a newer auto with airbag etc system?

Would not have mattered. One in the 152, landed against traffic, front of plane went into windshield of minivan. Edit: I was able to view the wreckage. Not pretty.
IAD98FA095: "The pilot flew to the Air National Guard Base, and performed military duty as a medical officer. That evening he gave a 30-minute orientation ride to a service member, and then departed for his home airport. Approximately 2 miles from his destination the pilot transmitted a Mayday call and announced, 'I'm out of gas and...I cannot make the airport.' The pilot performed a forced landing to the westbound lanes of a highway and collided with a van head on. Examination of the wreckage revealed no odor of fuel at the scene and one gallon of fuel was drained from the tanks. The hobbs meter reflected 3.8 hours of flight time from the pilot's first take-off. The airplane's fuel capacity was 26 gallons, 24.5 gallons of which were usable. The pilot had 99 hours of flight experience, approximately 59 of which were in make and model."

 

[mryan75]

I’ve watched it a couple of times now. The way he essentially just stopped flying at the end and smashed the road. Makes me wonder if he wasn’t riding the stall horn in the whole way down. Maybe that last 15° of turn wasn’t a possibility.

Exactly what I was thinking. Sometimes we just have to be glad everyone lived.

 

[ionel]

Would not have mattered. One in the 152, landed against traffic, front of plane went into windshield of minivan. Edit: I was able to view the wreckage. Not pretty.
IAD98FA095: "The pilot flew to the Air National Guard Base, and performed military duty as a medical officer. That evening he gave a 30-minute orientation ride to a service member, and then departed for his home airport. Approximately 2 miles from his destination the pilot transmitted a Mayday call and announced, 'I'm out of gas and...I cannot make the airport.' The pilot performed a forced landing to the westbound lanes of a highway and collided with a van head on. Examination of the wreckage revealed no odor of fuel at the scene and one gallon of fuel was drained from the tanks. The hobbs meter reflected 3.8 hours of flight time from the pilot's first take-off. The airplane's fuel capacity was 26 gallons, 24.5 gallons of which were usable. The pilot had 99 hours of flight experience, approximately 59 of which were in make and model."

Well sure ... a rock going thru the windshield can and has killed folks. But why was he landing into traffic rather than with traffic ... nevermind ... probably the same reason he ran out of gas.

 

[Racerx]

Finally the term "near miss" is used correctly. It NEARLY missed them... But it didn't because the prop hit the vehicle.

 

[M20K]

Maybe I'm crazy, but if landing on a road I think I would choose to land with traffic instead of against it.

From the pictures it appears the plane was going with traffic. But then swerved towards the median once on the ground. But it does not look like it crossed over enough to cause any interference with the traffic going the other way. Well... other than the "Oh Sh*t, look at that" factor.

 

[skyking3286]

Mush