Small plane makes emergency landing on Virginia highway minutes after takeoff
A small passenger plane that took off from Washington Dulles International Airport Friday afternoon made an emergency landing minutes later on a northern Virginia highway.
The Virginia State Police said that authorities were notified of a private aircraft making an emergency landing in Loudoun County a little before 1 p.m. Friday.
The pilot was able to safely land the single-engine Cessna 208 Caravan in the westbound lanes of Route 606 / Loudoun County Parkway without striking any vehicles, said the police, adding that the only the guardrail off the right side of the parkway was damaged in the incident. The parkway remains closed to the public as authorities investigated the incident, said the Virginia Department of Transportation in a traffic update around 3 p.m.
Five passengers, including a 15-year-old boy, were onboard the aircraft that was heading towards Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said the police. None of the passengers, the pilot, Ahmed Awais, 27, of Florida, nor the co-pilot were injured in the incident, said the state police.
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Southern Airways Express Flight 246
Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority spokesperson James Johnson, in an email to USA TODAY, said that the Dulles Airport received reports of a departed aircraft landing off-airport property on a nearby roadway around 12:50 p.m.
"The aircraft was identified as Southern Airways Express Flight 246," said Johnson.
Dulles Airport has not been affected by the event and remains open for takeoffs and landings, said Johnson.
Southern Airways Express Flight 246 was scheduled to take off from Dulles Airport at 12:45 p.m., according to Dulles Airport.
'Relieved'
Southern Airways Express CEO Stan Little said that the airline was relieved to know that there were no injuries.
"We are relieved to report there were no injuries, and all passengers are safe and sound," said Little, in a statement. "We are thankful to our pilots, who did exactly what they were trained to do -- to put the safety of our passengers first."
Little said that the airline is "working closely with the authorities to thoroughly investigate the situation", and that they will "take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security" of their passengers and crew.
Authorities did not specify why the pilot had to make an emergency landing on a highway, except that both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified of the incident and that an investigation is ongoing.
Founded in 2013, Southern Airways Express is based in Palm Beach, Florida. The commuter airline, with a fleet of over 30 aircrafts, serves 40 U.S. cities from Nantucket Island in Massachusetts to Honolulu, Hawaii according to its website. The airline is also interline partners with American Airlines, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Plane makes emergency landing on Virginia highway after leaving Dulles
