Shocking scenes as plane in the middle of busy motorway at rush hour
A plane landed in the middle of a busy road in England halting traffic in both directions as commuters tried to get home.
Police were called to the A40 Golden Valley Bypass in Gloucestershire shortly before 6pm on Thursday evening following the surprise landing, the Mirror reports[1].
Photos from the scene show a yellow-coloured light aircraft on the central reservation near Gloucestershire Airport, which is located between the towns of Gloucester and Cheltenham.
The unexpected arrival of the plane left traffic backed up in both directions while emergency services responded to the incident. Police, the fire service and the Highways team all attended the scene, and one photograph showed an emergency services worker climbing over the central reservation barrier.
No injuries were reported and no cars are thought to have been hit by the aeroplane. A team of people were seen pushing the plane onto a layby later in the evening after the road was cleared of cars, and traffic began moving again around 8pm.
A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Constabulary said: "We were called shortly before 6pm today (Thursday) with a report a light aircraft had landed on the A40 Golden Valley. No-one was injured and it is understood that no other vehicles were involved. We remain at the scene while work takes place to re-open the road."
Eyewitness Lee Trunks said he had been driving down the A40 on his way to Cheltenham when he "suddenly noticed something had just appeared in the distance" and put his hazard lights on. After slowing down, he approached on the outside lane and saw an aeroplane on the central reservation, with its wings obstructing the lane he was in.
The driver saw people attempting to help the pilot get out of the plane as he continued on his journey. He told MailOnline[3]: "It looked like the pilot managed to down the plane in the perfect place to not cause any harm considering it was towards the end of rush hour."
Vesper Gray Smith, 17, said he was on a bus from Gloucester to Cheltenham when he saw the plane in the road and took photos. He said: "I saw some fire engines going across a bridge near the site to go to the scene of the accident. There was police talking to witnesses and the pilot. Right as I went past the scene the road was shut off behind me. I didn’t see the plane land, but the photos were probably taken a few minutes after it did. I felt pretty surprised, as it’s really not something that happens often. I think everyone else on the bus was quite surprised as well. One of the first things I thought about the incident is if everyone is alright, and luckily they were."
A tweet from National Highways South West earlier in the evening confirming the road closure read: "The A40 in both directions between the A417 and M5 J11 near heltenham. Gloucester is closed due to an aviation incident. There are delays of 10 minutes and approx. 1 mile of congestion on approach."
In 2019, three passengers were pulled out of the burning remains of a small plane that dramatically crashed onto a dual carriageway on the A40. The light aircraft ploughed into the road between Abergaenney and Raglan shortly after 11am on May 12, hitting overhead power cables as it descended.
As traffic skidded to a halt a plume of smoke billowed into the air, followed by at least two small explosions. Ex bomb sergeant Joel Snarr, 35, was one of the first to react to the crash, helping to pull the passengers from the burning wreckage. All three passengers escaped with non life-threatening injuries.
References
- ^ Mirror reports (www.mirror.co.uk)
- ^ Hawaii wildfires: Irish people selflessly 'hunkering down and helping' as best they can (www.irishmirror.ie)
- ^ MailOnline (www.dailymail.co.uk)