Federal investigators will be looking for what caused a single engine plane to make an emergency landing on I-75 late Thursday morning. The plane came to rest near a Cross County Highway overpass.
Cincinnati Police Lieutenant Steve Saunders says the pilot, in his 60s, was not hurt. "I think we're very fortunate that because of the stay-at-home order the traffic volume on I-75 that typically would be very very high, was probably lower than normal," Saunders says. "That may have made the situation a little more advantageous for the pilot to bring the plane down on a major highway like I-75."
He says the pilot reported engine problems before the landing.
ODOT traffic cameras captured the plane as it came in low.
Today’s plane crash landing on I-75 near Cincinnati was caught on one of our https://t.co/y2mdfitzGi traffic cameras. No one was injured in this incident. pic.twitter.com/lZYeLjXyvY
— Matt Bruning (@mbruning81) April 16, 2020
In a press conference on Zoom, Saunders says they got a brief warning about the landing. "I'm guessing it came from one of the airports, either CVG or Lunken, potentially advising that a situation was developing. By the time we received notification on our radios, to the time the plane was down on the ground was less than a minute or two. It was very, very quick."
Saunders says the pilot was not hurt, and the plane didn't strike any vehicles on the highway.
FlightRadar24.dot.com shows the plane took off from Indianapolis and was bound for Lunken.
Very fortunate this plane was able to land on I-75 northbound safely. @CincyPD Traffic Unit is handling the investigation. pic.twitter.com/3VjPLsdV7S
— Cincinnati Police Department (@CincyPD) April 16, 2020