WTOP NEWS: A small commuter airplane that had just taken off from Dulles International Airport made an emergency landing on the Loudoun County Parkway near the airport Friday afternoon, authorities say.
Virginia State Police said it happened at about 12:50 p.m. The airplane skidded into a guardrail, but avoided hitting any vehicles on the roadway and no injuries were reported.
A total of seven people were board the single-engine Cessna 208 Caravan at the time, including a pilot, a co-pilot and five passengers, according to state police.
The pilot was identified as a 27-year-old Florida man. Four of the passengers were adults and one was a 15-year-old boy, state police said.
“The pilot was able to safely land the plane in the roadway without striking any vehicles,” a Virginia State Police spokeswoman said in a statement. “The only damage that occurred was to the guardrail off the right side of the Parkway. ”
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the incident.
The aircraft was operated by Southern Airways Express, a regional commuter airline, and had taken off from Dulles Airport shortly before the emergency landing, the airport said in a statement on social media platform X.
Eyewitness Jesse Labell was driving on the Loudoun County Parkway when he said he heard a loud noise, looked up and “there’s a plane 20 feet above me and then it landed 30 feet ahead of me,” before skidding into a guardrail, he told WTOP’s Neal Augenstein.
Labell said he helped get the passengers off the plane. He said everyone appeared to be OK, but shaken up.
“They were all just shocked,” he said.
According to data from Flight Radar 24, the plane was headed to Lancaster Airport in Pennsylvania.
The landing sparked a large emergency response. The southbound lanes of the parkway are closed between Yardley Ridge Drive and Arcola Mills Drive, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said.
Video from Virginia Department of Transportation traffic cameras showed the plane in an intersection of the parkway surrounded by emergency response vehicles.
Dulles Airport remained open for takeoffs and landings, the airport said.
