by Liam McKenna

the SandPaper, July, 12, 2015

Sunday morning’s commute to Long Beach Island featured a slight peculiarity from the sky: a plane landing on the Route 72 highway.

“I was just on my way to the beach: normal day, little bit of summer traffic. Then I see cars pulling over. I see a truck book it over the median. I’m like, ‘Where’s everyone going right now? Why is everyone driving weird?’ Then, BANG — plane,” Ocean Acres resident Matt Swenson said.

Just after 10 a.m. a small, single-engine plane was forced to land on Route 72 near The Home Depot shopping plaza.

“I was on 72 eastbound at, I don’t know, maybe 10:20 this morning. I was right by Route 9, and I see people starting to pull over for no reason. Then, 20 yards in front of me maybe, I see a plane land,” Swenson said.

Swenson said he watched the plane bounce three or four times after landing. His first instinct was to swerve into the lane to his right.

“The wing probably got like pretty close to my car,” Swenson said. “I couldn’t really tell because I was just in shock.”

Had he not switched lanes, he said he might have been struck by the plane’s wing.

“I look in my rearview, and he’s just trying to keep it on the median rather than going into the street and hitting a car. I don’t know how successful he was.”

Looking behind him, seeing no cars hit, Swenson was thankful it appeared no one was hurt. He also was impressed with the pilot’s landing ability considering the maneuver was conducted on a highway filled with shore-bound traffic on a clear summer day.

Stafford police were quickly on scene, and reported that there were no injuries — later adding that a plane passenger sustained a “small cut” on his arm. Officers at the scene closed the left lanes on Route 72 in both directions for approximately 90 minutes.

The plane is part of Skydive East Coast and had taken off from Eagles Nest Airport in Eagleswood.

“I knew you’d call me eventually,” airport owner Peter Weidhorn joked.

Weidhorn said he gathered that everyone involved was OK. He said the plane, used for skydiving, took off from his airport. To the best of his knowledge, skydivers were on board the plane at the time it had to land. Weidhorn said normally five people are on board the plane. This includes two skydivers, two tandem jumpers and the pilot.

“It was climbing, so it was at full power, and the engine seized up or something happened with the engine,” Weidhorn said, attributing that information to Skydive East Coast owner George Voishnis. “Why it happened, I can’t tell you. It will be investigated.”

“We’re still in discovery, so I want to be careful with what I say,” Voishnis said, when contacted.

He verified Weidhorn comments, saying the plane was climbing as engine issues occurred. He also said there were skydivers on board when the plane landed — five “sounded” like the correct number.

“He very safely and wisely landed the plane where he had the option to with everyone’s safety in mind, in the plane and out,” Voishnis said of the pilot.

Weidhorn and Voishnis said the plane sustained damage upon its landing.

“So not only did it have an engine failure, but the plane was substantially damaged,” Weidhorn speculated. “But I’m not there, so this is third-party, but I was told everyone was fine.”

Subject to verification, Voishnis said it appears as though the plane was “sacrificed” to avoid injuring drivers or divers.

“We pride ourselves on safety. It’s the No. 1 issue of all of our people on the ground and in the air,” Voishnis said. “We have maintenance done on that aircraft constantly. We have a mechanic on-site all of the time, keeping an eye out all of the time. We’re still in investigation to find out why we had the failure. Our pilots are trained extremely well, meeting all requirements — very high hours on them. Right now, I’ve heard they’ve done an excellent job.”

Voishnis said the pilot would not be made available for interviews until after speaking with Voishnis and the Federal Aviation Administration. Stafford police said the incident will be turned over to FAA for further investigation.

Ashley Lependorf of Manahawkin also witnessed the landing. She was heading to the beach to meet up with some friends. As she was approaching the intersection of Route 72 and Route 9, the low-flying plane caught her attention. She didn’t know what to think.

“It hit all the signs going down 72 in the middle,” Lependorf said. “The signs were just blowing out of the median … but it went down pretty smooth.”

“It almost went into my lane because we were all in the fast lane,” Lependorf said. “We all had to swerve.”

At that moment, she was concerned for everyone in the plane because she knew she could safely avoid the aircraft.

Driving by herself, Lependorf said she was unsure of what to do after she passed the plane. So she pulled over with other drivers who were checking to make sure all those involved were all right.

Swenson said in the future, he will keep his eyes on the sky a bit more while driving. Yet he does not anticipate encountering a similar situation on Route 72.