Heart-stopping moment plane dodges cars & lorries as pilot forced to make emergency landing on motorway
THIS is the heart-stopping moment a plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a Brazilian motorway after suffering engine failure.
Motorists travelling behind the plane filmed as the aircraft dodged cars and lorries before touching down on the tarmac.
The shocking footage shows the out-of-control plane weaving underneath overhead power lines while dodging traffic on the busy road.
For a moment it looks as if the aircraft is going to land on a grass verge next to the road, but it is then seen coming back round to the road.
The plane eventually comes down to land just in front of a large tanker, which is forced to slam on its brakes to avoid a collision.
The aircraft then crosses lanes to find a safer position between traffic.
The skilful pilot, Mateus Renan Calado, 29, somehow managed to land safely without anyone being killed or even injured.
Motorists in the vehicle behind panicked as they feared it was going to smash into the lorry.
In the nail-biting footage a female passenger can be overhead shouting: “It’s going to come down on the top of the lorry, it’s going to crash.”
She can later be heard yelling: “My God, how amazing! How lucky!”
The police confirmed that the two people aboard the plane were both fine, and were not hurt.
The pilot Calado was joined by the plane’s owner, 71-year-old businessman Valdemiro Jose Minella.
The aircraft left an aerodrome in Gauramirim in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina shortly before midday.
Calado lost control of the single-engine Pelican 500 BR after it suffered engine failure above the BR-1010 in nearby Garuva.
The plane was then forced to emergency land on the packed highway as emergency response vehicles raced to the scene.
It was towed away around 5pm local time yesterday before the motorway was fully re-opened.
An investigation into the incident is now underway.
The video of the landing quickly went viral on social media, with people rushing to the comments to commend the pilot’s skill.
One social media user said: “That was some fancy flying.”
Another wrote: “Buy that guy a beer. That’s some incredible piloting there.”
This comes after two people were killed after a small plane crashed onto a busy road and collided with a bus in Sao Paulo in February.
A further six people including a motorcyclist and a woman on the bus were left injured after being hit by flying debris.
Horrific footage captured of the incident showed the the plane travelling at lightening speed as it plunges towards the road.
The jet smashed into the middle of a junction and erupts into an orange fireball before skidding down a busy street.