Pilot: Took 4 Or 5 Seconds For "Oh Crap!" Factor To Hit, Brought Plane Down

Pilot & 4-Year Old Son Make Emergency Landing

Photo: CBS 12

A Florida pilot is speaking out about his emergency landing on a roadway near Fort Pierce.

"About fifteen minutes or so after we took off, we had some engine issues."

Adam Williams had his four-year old son with him as they were headed for Boca Raton Monday when he says the engine in his Cessna aircraft shut off while they were more than two thousand feet in the air.

He says it didn't take long for him to realize something wasn't right.

"There's a shock factor that you experience as a pilot when something goes the wrong way and usually it takes about four or five seconds for that 'Oh crap!' factor to hit you. You realize it and start making moves."

That's when he went through his checklist.

"Nobody on the ground was hurt. You know, when you have to land on a roadway, that's always something in the back of your mind."

Williams says his son was panicking.

"When we started to go down and started turning, he realized something wasn't quite right so he was grabbing my arm saying 'Daddy! Daddy!' I could tell he was concerned."

He radioed to the tower and then safely brought the plane down onto Glades Cut-Off Road without injuring anyone.

Williams has nine-years flying experience and operates his own flight school.

The Cessna 140 is in one piece and Williams says he has checked it out and it is running fine.


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