Terrifying moment small plane crash lands in Georgia street: ‘We’re not going to make it’
Dramatic new video shows the moment a small plane crash landed on a busy Georgia road — as it emerged the experienced pilot sent a distressing mayday to his wife, warning, “We’re not going to make it.”
Horrified witnesses captured the single-engine plane suddenly swooping down onto Browns Bridge Road in Gainesville on Monday afternoon.
The 2010 Beechcraft Hawker G-36 then spun out of control and smashed into several cars waiting at an intersection, before coming to a rest in the middle of the lane.
The videos were shared online as it was revealed that the small plane had started experiencing engine problems shortly after taking off from the nearby Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport.
Pilot Thomas Rogers — who was alone onboard with an unidentified student pilot — had radioed a distressing message to his wife and loved ones just before the emergency landing.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday!” he could be heard saying in air traffic audio obtained by WSBTV.
“We’re not going to make it,” the pilot continued. “Please tell my wife, Molly, I love her … and my parents. I love them so much.”
Moments later, separate footage shot by witnesses captured the small plane hitting multiple vehicles as it made the emergency landing
Miraculously, Rogers and his student pilot suffered only minor injuries.
“We lost our engine taking off out of Gainesville and tried to glide back, did everything by the book, but realized we weren’t gonna make it back with how far out we were, so we came down the road,” Rogers told WAGA in the aftermath.
The Gainesville Police Department said it was a miracle they managed to make the landing with minimal destruction.
“The fact that this plane came down, did not strike any power poles, any power lines, and only hit three vehicles is absolutely remarkable,” Police Captain Kevin Holbrook said.
Footage from the aftermath showed the plane — a 2010 Beechcraft Hawker G-36 — parked on the road with cars and stunned witnesses nearby.
