The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating in Florida’s Palm Beach County after a small plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a busy road.
According to the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue, the incident occurred just after 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 4. “An experimental place was forced to make a precautionary landing on the roadway,” the post reads. “The pilot was the only person on board. Luckily, the aircraft landed safely and nobody was injured.”
ABC 25 also revealed that the FAA is investigating the single-engine Rans S-19 Venterra plane’s emergency landing. The pilot had reported engine issues near Loxahatchee. It landed on State Road 80, west of Lion Country Safari and the Arden community.
The plane landed in the westbound lanes but was able to move safely to the righthanded shoulder.
Meanwhile, the Palm Beach Post reported that the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office shared that the aircraft equipment failure stemmed from a damaged propeller. The S-19 Venterra was towed to Palm Beach County Glades Airport. An FAA inspector took over once the plane reached the airport.
Fire Rescue did not identify who the pilot was.
Palm Beach County Experienced Deadly Plane Crash One Year Before Emergency Landing
Tuesday night’s emergency landing comes one year after Palm Beach County experienced a deadly small plane crash.
According to NBC 5 WPTV, Isabela Diego Mathias and flight instructor Stanley Sands died shortly after takeoff from Palm Beach County Park Airport at 11:18 a.m. on May 26, 2023.
National Transportation Safety Board released a report detailing what had happened in the 2023 accident. “The pulley did not rotate freely and corrosion was noted,” the report revealed. “Several other breaks noted in the aileron control system were consistent with tension overload failures.”
The report noted that the pulley was not working properly at takeoff. “The pilot cannot arrest the bank, in other words, bring the airplane back to wings level, and everyone is just along for the ride at that point,” Katz, a commercial pilot for 42 years and certified flight instructor, told the media outlet. “The airplane is out of control.”
Katz further pointed out that the plane was “rolling over on takeover because the pilot has no control.”
The report further revealed that the plane had departed from Palm Beach County Park Airport’s runway 4. The plane had “rotated and began to climb.”
“Then, it descended and began to climb again. It then rolled right until it was in an approximate 90° right bank and continued in a right descending turn until it impacted the ground. A pilot who witnessed the accident said the airplane’s engine “sounded like it was full throttle the entire time.”