Three people were injured when a small plane crash-landed onto a busy Arizona road on Sunday afternoon, according to authorities.
The pilot of a privately-owned Republic RC-3 plane made an “emergency gear-up landing” near 7th Street and Missouri Avenue in Phoenix around 3:25 p.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration and the Phoenix Police Department.
Three people on board the single-engine plane miraculously suffered only minor injuries, Arizona Family reported.
Photos posted to social media showed at least one individual crawling out of the dented white-and-blue aircraft as it leaned into the road verge.
The pilot with over 40 years of flying experience had attempted to avoid power lines and find a clear place to land, Phoenix Fire Captain DJ Lee told the outlet.
The plane hit a water main during the freak landing, but no vehicles or buildings were struck on the busy intersection.
“It is 100% a miracle,” Lee said.
Roads surrounding the scene were closed into Sunday evening as emergency crews removed the plane and worked to repair water main issues, authorities said.
It is not immediately clear what led the crew to make the emergency landing. The FAA will investigate the incident.
The crash comes mere days after a couple, Chris and Jacque Sheafe, were killed when a single-engine Piper PA-32 ran off the runway and erupted in flames at Arizona’s Marana Regional Airport on Wednesday, KOLD reported.
On the same day, a Cessna T-41B plane “veered off the runway” at the Sun Valley-Bison- Fort Mohave Airport in Arizona, and plowed right into a home’s garage.
The two people steering the small aircraft were hospitalized with injuries.
