Pilot Makes Emergency Landing On US 1
Published: February 2, 2010
St. Augustine, Fl - A pilot was forced to land his Cessna on US Route 1 in the southbound lane after he ran out of fuel around 1:30 pm this afternoon.
The pilot, Tom Shappell, 71, of Reading, Pa told Fire Service News that the plane developed a fuel leak and he was attempting to land his 1967 Cessna at the St. Augustine Airport to fuel it up, when it ran out completely and he was force to “put the plane down between cars” on US 1.
Mr Shappell was not injured and was able to land the plane then guide it off the side of the road and into some brush where it sat for about 2 hours. Traffic was backed up in the southbound lane for several hours as fire fighters from St. Johns County Fire Rescue and St. Augustine Airports fire department worked to ensure the plane was secure and didn’t pose a fire risk.
Units from St. Johns County Sheriffs Office were on hand to handle traffic and investigate the incident and several units from the Florida Highway Patrol arrived late in the incident to assist.
Visit http://sefirephoto.smugmug.com for more images from the incident.
© 2010, Fire Service News. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Author: Christopher Kimball (31 Articles)
Christopher Kimball is a freelance photojournalist and fire service photographer. His work has been featured in 1st Responder News, The St. Augustine Record, Historic City News, Wesay.com, Demotix.com, FireEngineering.com and Firehouse.com. He is a 20 year veteran of the fire service having served as a fire fighter, Lt., Asst. Chief and EMT-I.
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