Pilot Makes An Emergency Landing On North Carolina Highway
When pilots have to make emergency landings, we are often left to wonder how we would react if we found ourselves in a similar situation.
Pilot Vincent Fraser found himself in this exact quandary recently. Once you see how he handled it, you are going to be so impressed. This emergency landing took place on a North Carolina mountain highway.
The engine on Fraser’s Aero Commander 100 experienced an untimely failure. This had to be terrifying for Fraser, who had just gotten his pilot’s license late last year.
He and his father had flown up from Florida. Fraser wanted to check out some property that he had purchased adjacent to Fontana Lake. He never could have expected what would end up happening next. The emergency landing took place during their return to Macon County Airport.
Something did not feel right to Vincent at that moment. That’s why he made the choice that he made. He did not want others to get hurt. Once he regained control of the aircraft, he headed towards a Swain County river. The descent began but then Vincent noticed a rural highway where he could set the aircraft down. Highway 19 beckoned to him like a glass of cold water in the desert.
“I was going to commit to just dropping her in the river and hoping for the best and as we’re coming over the bridge, I look to my left and I see highway 19, and uh it’s just it’s just like a miracle… that it was there and I looked to my left and I’m like that’s it that’s where we’re gonna go highway 19. At this point we are low to the ground I would say less than a thousand feet from the from the ground and you can see in the video that’s when I made that left and I started going straight towards it,” he explained.
It’s a video that has to be seen to be fully believed. The amount of terror that he had to be feeling in the moment is beyond our comprehension. We are just glad that everyone is okay and that Vincent is still alive to tell the story.
After all, we are sure that he is beyond grateful to have escaped without further harm. Kudos to him for having a steady hand and not panicking.
Check out the videos below of the landing and his follow-up that explains what happened!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HLjEdpykuM