FEBRUARY 14, 2025|
♥Photo♥ – Plane that made emergency landing on Highway 789 – Courtesy WYDOT
A pilot who remains unidentified walked away from a forced emergency landing outside of Rawlins.
On Wednesday afternoon, the pilot of a single engine aircraft made an emergency landing on Highway 789, between Baggs and I-80. Wyoming Department of Transportation District One Senior Public Relations Specialist Andrea Staley said the pilot landed safely and was able to move his plane off the roadway.
Staley said the plane remained on the side of the highway while the Federal Aviation Administration conducted its investigation. The unidentified pilot was uninjured in the incident.
Staley was unable to provide the exact cause of the incident, except to say that she believes that engine failure resulted in the pilot needing to make an emergency landing on Highway 789.
Staley said emergency landings on state highways are not uncommon.
Staley was referring to the October 2022 plane crash that occurred near mile marker 324 on Interstate 80. A small single engine plane skidded into the grass while attempting to make an emergency landing on I80. No one was injured in that incident either.
One month earlier, in September of 2022, Mark and Joyce Buxbaum from South Dakota were forced to make an emergency landing on Highway 30 between Hanna and Medicine Bow due to engine failure. Unfortunately, the Buxbaum’s plane flipped over, trapping Mark in the wreckage. Both were taken to Memorial Hospital of Carbon County in Rawlins, with Mark being airlifted to Loveland, Colorado for further treatment. The FAA determined that improper engine maintenance contributed to the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration is still investigating the cause of Wednesday’s emergency landing outside of Rawlins.
