‘Are You Seeing This?’ Plane Hits Several Vehicles During Emergency Landing on Georgia Highway (Video)
A small plane made an emergency landing on a highway in Gainesville, Georgia, and hit multiple vehicles. Of course, this being 2026, the whole thing was caught on video.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the single-engine Hawker Beechcraft BE-36 plane experienced engine issues around 12:10 p.m. on Monday. It had departed from Gainesville’s Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport and was headed for Cherokee County Regional Airport in Canton, Georgia.
“Shortly after departure, the pilot experienced problems with the engine and elected to turn back towards Gainesville to land there,” the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. “The airplane didn’t have enough power to make it to the airport, so the pilot made a forced landing on a roadway, where the plane struck three vehicles.”
Witnesses described the emergency landing
When the plane landed on the highway, police said the aircraft’s fuel tank came loose, and “went into the rear of the SUV and into the vehicle,” when its right wing struck a vehicle. Images of the accident show an SUV with damage to its front bumper.
One witness, Jacob Hunt, told Fox 5 News the incident sounded “like a couple [of] car crashes all in one boom.” He also described it as “a shriek” and “the scraping of the asphalt.”
Another witness, Deanna Campbell, said to WSB News that she told her husband, “‘That’s a plane! That’s a plane!’ It really scared us.”
One of the pilots explained what happened
“We lost our engine taking off out of Gainesville and realized, 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,” said pilot Thomas Rogers.
In an air traffic audio recorded by LiveATC.net, Rogers said goodbye to his loved ones.
“We’re not going to make it,” he said. “Please tell my wife, Molly, I love her … and my parents. I love them so much.”
About 10 minutes later, ATC heard him say, “We’re going to be fine.”
Several people sustained minor injuries
Multiple people reportedly sustained minor injuries. Two individuals, including one driver, visited a local hospital for treatment. Both pilots on board the plane also suffered only minor injuries and remained on site after the emergency landing before going to the hospital.
“The fact that this plane came down, did not strike any power poles, any power lines, and only hit three vehicles is absolutely remarkable,” said Gainesville Police Capt. Kevin Holbrook.
