Cessna 152 Lands on Interstate in Rush Hour Traffic

The 42-year-old pilot was flying alone from Portland International Jetport to Waterville when the engine of the rented 152 quit at 2,000 feet. While investigators are still looking into the incident, Jim Iacono of Maine Aviation Aircraft Leasing LLC, the company that rented the Cessna to the pilot, told local media outlets he believes the airplane ran out of fuel.

Drivers on the interstate at the time of the incident said they saw what looked like a strobe light directly before the airplane landed on the southbound road near mile marker 13. The pilot taxied the 152 into the median, allowing one lane of traffic to go around the airplane, as curious onlookers backed up northbound traffic as well. Officials closed southbound traffic a few hours after the 152 landed to transport it off the highway on a flatbed truck.

View additional video coverage of the incident below.

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