Lanes Under Construction, Pilot Walked Away

The pilot of a Cessna 182 aircraft that landed on an under-construction busway in West Hartford, CT Saturday afternoon walked away uninjured from the forced landing, but his airplane was badly damaged.

Fox News reports that the pilot was Dan Hall of Torrington, CT. Hall told television station WTIC that the plane began to lose power, and he started looking for an acceptable place to land. He said he noticed what he thought was a road with no cars on it, and while he found that to be unusual, he set up for the landing.

The road turned out to be a 9.4 mile bus-only corridor that is still under construction. It is scheduled to open in late March.

Hall had departed Plainville, CT en route to Brainard Airport in Hartford when the plane developed an engine problem. The forced landing occurred at about 1515 local time Saturday, and while Hall said he was unhurt, the plane's right wing was torn off when it impacted a fence that separates the bus lane from a rail line.

About 30 gallons of fuel spilled out of the wing's ruptured fuel tank, but there was no fire.

This was the second accident in which Hall was involved. In 2008, he was flying from Simsbury, CT to Westerly, RI when his plane lost power and he went down in the Pawcatuck River in Stonington, RI.

Hall said he thought after the first time, he would never be involved in another accident. As to whether he'll keep flying, that's an open question, but he told the station "I love flying. I always have."

(Cessna 182 pictured in file photo. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov