Plane makes dramatic emergency landing on major Brazil highway, dodges cars

A pilot was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing on a major highway in Brazil after the aircraft’s engine failed.

The single-engine plane, a Pelican 500 BR, departed from Guaramirim Aeroclub in Santa Catarina for a flight over Garuva around midday on Saturday (5 April).

According to NSC TV, pilot Mateus Renan Calado, 29, was forced to land on the busy BR-101 highway after noticing a problem with the engine.

Video footage filmed by motorists shows the aircraft weaving between moving cars before it shakily touched down on the hard shoulder in front of a large tanker.

A woman can be heard shouting, “It’s going to come down on the top of the lorry, it’s going to crash” in a clip shared on social media.

She added, “My God, how amazing! How lucky!” once the plane had landed safely.

Aircraft owner Valdemiro José Minella, a 71-year-old businessman, told NSC TV that the plane had flown for seven hours since undergoing inspection at the beginning of the year.

Neither the pilot nor the owner, the two passengers onboard, were injured during its abrupt landing.

At around 5pm on Saturday, the aircraft was towed from the roadside.

PRF Brazil, the Federal Highway Police, said: “The plane did not hit any vehicles. The Federal Highway Police (PRF) blocked traffic to remove the aircraft from the runway. The two occupants of the single-engine aircraft were not injured.

“As it was not in a condition to take off and continue its journey, the plane was dismantled and transported by truck.”

The Brazilian Air Force has confirmed it will investigate the incident.

It said in a statement: “The conclusion of this investigation will occur as soon as possible, always depending on the complexity of the occurrence and, also, the need to discover possible contributing factors."

The Independent