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Saw one commentator state with great certainty that the pilot "should have landed in the nearby marsh", to which I say, "OK, next it's YOUR turn. You have 16 seconds before you hit the ground... where do ya put 'er down?"
I've been in an emergency landing and it happens 'way too quickly. We were at least 4000 feet above ground level when the engine quit. We were on the ground in really quickly. Cessna 206 with the STOL package. Two pilots on board and no issues on the landing. They chose a dirt road and set it down nicely. We were in Nevada. When the plane rolled to a stop I looked out the left window there a hundred yards or more away was a target with a huge hole near the bullseye. Looking right I saw a tank quite a ways away. Then a helicopter appeared overhead and a jeep with a 50 mounted on it and soldiers hanging onto it pulled up as we were getting out of the plane.
Turned out we landed on a US Army tank range. Right in the line of fire.
After they ran our ID's and talked with us they helped us get the plane going and we flew on to Carson City. We had it checked over but the mechanics did not find anything wrong with it.
Part of pilot training involves being able at all times to be aware of where you can put it down if you have to. Nice straight and wide roads are usually excellent runways if the traffic allows.
Pisgah wrote: ↑Thu Dec 11, 2025 8:18 am
Saw one commentator state with great certainty that the pilot "should have landed in the nearby marsh", to which I say, "OK, next it's YOUR turn. You have 16 seconds before you hit the ground... where do ya put 'er down?"
Far as I can see, that was a perfect landing.
They did a good job, not much could be done about the car at that moment. There have been a number of highway landings over the years with many caught on video. The thing that baffles me is the number of people who just keep driving in the midst of it.
Sadly I suspect that it's going to turn out that they ran the tanks dry.
Sometime in late '73 or early '74 an RF-101 Voodoo lost power. Too far out to make the runway it set down on the I-15 between Victorville and Barstow. No fire, no smoke, just dead sticked it on the highway. When we got there crew was having a cigarette with the CHP officer on scene.
This was the first time I had heard that one reason interstates had long straight unimpeded stretches was that they could be used as expedient runways during time of war.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
You are correct Jeep, the interstate hiways are to double as runways.
My late father was a career pilot, he flew everything from piper cubs up to 757s. The only time he ever had an issue was he and a family friend in the friends DeHaviland Tiger Moth , hot humid day and the poor old Moth just could not gain altitude on take off. They just struggled along in ground effect and finally gave up, setting it down in a field. Pride was hurt thankfully and a little fabric on the belly of the plane.
That Tiger Moth is now hanging in the Airforce museum in Ohio.
I was talking with a pilot after he decided that leaving an airplane was better than riding it down. He was kind of shockey but in good spirits. He made a very dry comment. "The only problem with airplanes is gravity."
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad