Transportation

Small plane lands on Twin Cities highway, collides with vehicle

Plane on road
The plane landed on the Brooklyn Park highway Tuesday morning.
Elizabeth Shockman | MPR News

Updated Nov. 29, 6 a.m. | Posted Nov. 28, 12:32 p.m.

A small plane made an emergency landing on a busy road in the northwest Twin Cities metro on Tuesday. It crashed into a car, but authorities said the driver and pilot had only minor injuries.

Brooklyn Park police said the incident was reported just after 10:30 a.m. at the intersection of Hennepin County Road 81/Bottineau Boulevard and West Broadway, just north of Interstate 94.

Plane crash on highway
A plane came to rest in the southbound lanes of Bottineau Boulevard in Brooklyn Park just north of Interstate 94 on Tuesday.
MnDOT

First responders found the single-engine Piper PA-28 intact and resting upright against a vehicle in the southbound lanes of County Road 81.

“Initial indications suggest that the plane was on approach to the Crystal Airport when it experienced a mechanical issue leading to power loss,” police said in a news release. “The pilot attempted an emergency landing on County Road 81, hitting overhead power wires before impacting the ground and colliding with the involved motor vehicle.”

A 23-year-old man was the pilot and sole occupant of the plane. He was treated at the scene for minor injuries. Police said the 32-year-old man driving the vehicle was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Federal aviation authorities are investigating the incident.

An employee who answered the phone at Thunderbird Aviation — the company the plane is licensed to — said Tuesday that they were aware of the situation and that everyone involved was OK.