Washington State Trooper Helps Plane Make Emergency Landing on Busy Road

A quick-thinking trooper helped a plane make an emergency landing on a busy roadway in Washington state on Thursday. 

Washington State Patrol Trooper Clint Thompson was driving along Pacific Avenue in Pierce County, Washington, when he saw a small plane getting closer and closer to the road, CBS affiliate KIRO reported. He turned on his lights and dashboard camera and followed it, blocking traffic behind him. 

The pilot, David Acklam, was struggling to land the plane without power, according to KIRO, and was aiming to bring it down on the two northbound lanes of the wide roadway. 

It was a white-knuckle moment as the plane approached a busy intersection where cars were crossing, but Acklam managed to stop at the red light. 

Thompson then got out of his patrol car for an out-of-the-ordinary traffic stop, tapping on the window of the cockpit until Acklam opened it. 

Thanks to both men's quick thinking, no one was injured, KIRO reported. And both have quite the story to share. 

"In 21 years, I would say that’s the first time I ever went across the radio and said that there’s a plane that landed on Pacific Avenue," Thompson told KIRO. 

Acklam told the station that Thompson "probably saved me from either serious injury or death and somebody else from getting to a car crash with a plane." 

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident, according to KIRO. 

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