Danny Hall, a 48-year-old roofing company owner from Torrington, Connecticut, walked away from the crash landing Saturday afternoon in West Hartford with only soreness in his back. In 2008, he landed his plane in a river after the engine failed.
On Saturday, Hall said his Skyline Cessna experienced engine problems and lost power while flying from Robertson Field in Plainville to Hartford-Brainard Airport. He radioed a controller at the Hartford airport while looking for a place to put the plane down.
While looking for a place to land, Hall noticed a road only a few miles from the Hartford airport that didn't have any traffic on it.
"What I thought was a road was actually the bus route I guess they just built," he said. "I was kind of questioning why there were no cars on it, but I figure if I'm going to land a plane, I'm going to try to put it somewhere where no one is going to get hurt."
Also Read
"When I got out of the plane after it got down, I noticed a little smoke coming up where the engine was, popped my seatbelt, opened the door, got out of the plane and as I was away from it I realized I was safe," Hall said.
The USD 567 million bus-only corridor between Hartford and New Britain is nearing completion and is set to open early next year.
"The most important thing, I'm just happy no one got hurt, especially on the ground. I did what I had to do," Hall said. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why the plane lost power.