Plane makes emergency landing in Florida’s Turnpike in Port St. Lucie
Friday, July 24th, 2009 by Ana X. CeronFederal aviation officials will be investigating the emergency landing of a small plane in open field just north of a Florida’s Turnpike service plaza this afternoon.
Florida Highway Patrol photo of the plane that landed at the St. Lucie Plaza on the Turnpike.
Florida Highway Patrol officials were alerted shortly before 2 p.m. that pilot Kenneth H. Smith, the single occupant of the single engine aircraft, landed at the north end of the Fort Pierce Service Plaza, located three miles north of the Port St. Lucie Boulevard exit.
Traffic wasn’t tied up because the site is a wide open field, FHP spokesman Jorge Delahoz said. The closest lane – on the northbound side – was roughly 50 yards away from the plane, he said.
Delahoz said the pilot told officials that his engine cut off on him.
Smith sustained a minor injury and was transported to St. Lucie Medical Center for treatment. No one else was hurt, according to FHP officials.
The plane did strike an unoccupied lawn maintenance trailer parked in the field just north of the plaza before it came to a final stop.
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