‘Heart is pounding’: Flight instructor and teen pilot make emergency landing on highway
By Jason Burger
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Oklahoma (KOCO) — A flight instructor and his 16-year-old student pilot made an emergency landing on Highway 77 in Noble County after their plane’s engine failed during a night flight.
The pair had taken off from Ponca City Airport, intending to return to Yukon after a break.
“There was a solid loud thud, and I looked down at the tachometer, which shows you your RPMs for the engine, and it went to zero, showing there’s no power in the engine,” student pilot Landon Atkinson said.
Certified flight instructor Owen Navarro praised Atkinson’s composure.
“You were a lot calmer and more relaxed than I probably would have been as a 16-year-old student,” Navarro said.
At about 6,000 feet in the air, the engine failed.
“Your heart is pounding, but all you can do is go back to your training, say a quick prayer, and hope you get to the ground,” Atkinson said.
Navarro took over the controls and attempted to restart the engine but was unsuccessful.
“Everything was normal. We tried to restart the engine, and we couldn’t get anything,” Navarro said.
They began searching for nearby airports using different radio frequencies.
“As he was getting the frequency and plugging them in, I was telling Kansas City Center what the situation was, and we were trying to make Perry because that’s what we had planned before,” Navarro said.
“We were going to try to do Perry airport, which was about nine miles from us. We couldn’t make that. We were going to do I-35, and decided we couldn’t make that, and it probably wasn’t the best decision,” Atkinson said.
Navarro then noticed headlights from a car on Highway 77.
“I kind of watch it to see the headlights illuminate down the street, and at that point, I knew that’s what we were going to have to do,” he said.
They had to take into account power lines, trees and other cars. But they successfully landed the plane on Highway 77 near Yearling Road, a few miles north of Perry.
“When we landed, the first sounds you hear are the coyotes, because they’re howling off in the distance. It’s dark out there,” Atkinson said.
Alto Flight Academy, where Atkinson is training, posted a statement on social media, saying, “Alto Flight Academy performs initial and recurrent emergency training with our flight instructors. They attend a weekly staff safety meeting whereby we review safety procedures and emergency scenarios for training.”
No one was injured. The cause of the engine failure is under investigation.
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