Mike Goodwin
Times Union, Albany, N.Y.
(TNS)
Dec. 20—ALBANY — A plane landed Friday afternoon on the Thruway, but authorities said the pilot and two passengers were uninjured.
The plane touched down just south of Exit 23, which connects the Thruway to the southern end of I-787. It was parked on the shoulder of the northbound lanes of the highway; photos taken by a Times Union reporter who approached from the adjacent state Thruway Authority headquarters showed the aircraft upright with no visible serious damage.
Emergency workers were dispatched to the scene at 12:40 p.m. State Police were at the scene.
Authorities said it appears the plane suffered a mechanical problem before it landed. Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said the plane was headed to Bennington, Vt., when the pilot contacted the control tower at Albany International Airport to report the plane was "icing up" and conditions were worsening.
At the time of the crash, a fine mist of frigid water was falling on parts of the Capital Region, leaving surfaces icy.
Beau Duffy, a spokesman for the State Police, said the Federal Aviation Administration was sending investigators to the scene. He confirmed that no one onboard had been injured.
The flight originated in Winnsboro, S.C., taking off at 8:35 a.m., according to Flightaware.com.
The plane, a Beechcraft twin-engine craft, is owned by S&S Aircraft Inc. A man who answered the phone listed for the South Carolina company said no one there was "equipped" to discuss the situation.
Maj. Andre J. Ray, the commander of Troop T, which oversees the Thruway, told the Times Union at the Thruway headquarters Friday afternoon that he had never seen anything like this in his career.
"Barely a scratch," Ray said. When asked if the pilot would be ticketed, he said he doubted they would — they had no other options available to them and they were in distress. The Thruway never totally closed, although one lane was closed for a while.
As Ray was speaking during a Friday news conference, a tractor trailer hauled the plane away, going north on the Thruway toward the airport.
Ray said he could not release names yet, but that three people were interviewed by State Police and then the FAA.
"Where they're going to exactly from there, I do not know," Ray added.
Dan Clark contributed to this article.
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