Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing on U.S. 27

The pilot said he noticed his windshield was becoming covered with oil

A small plane made an emergency landing on the northbound lanes of U.S. 27 just south of Griffin Road Sunday morning, but no injuries were reported.

The pilot told NBC 6 he was flying from Opa-locka to Sebring and was at an altitude of about 600 feet when he noticed his windshield was becoming covered with oil.

The pilot, a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue lieutenant, did not want to be interviewed on camera, but he spoke about how he brought the single-engine Cessna 182 to a stop in the right lane of U.S. 27 North, about 300 years south of the Griffin exit.

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The engine conked out and he knew he was in trouble – but he also knew U.S. 27 was nearby, so he made a nice, easy landing on the highway in no traffic, he said.

Officials said they expected the stretch of the highway where the plane landed would be shut down for 6-8 hours, into late Sunday afternoon, until a salvage crew arrives from Orlando to get the aircraft.

The plane, whose tail number is N5133R, was made in 1978, Federal Aviation Administration records show.

Sunday's emergency landing follows the crash of a small plane in a Fort Lauderdale parking lot Friday that killed all three people aboard.

On Saturday, NFL player Donte’ Stallworth and his girlfriend Soleil Guerrero received serious burns when when a hot air balloon carrying them crashed into power lines in Homestead.

This story has been updated to reflect the correct model, tail number and year of the plane.

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