Plane makes forced landing on Interstate 26, Asheville fire officials confirm (NC)

wlos.com ^ | Thu, December 14th 2023 | Denise Pridgen

[mabarker1]

It appears a small plane was forced to land on Interstate 26 on Thursday evening.

Several News 13 viewers have called the newsroom, reporting a crash. And video shows the aircraft on fire.

Asheville fire officials have confirmed the forced landing.

An airport spokesperson said the aircraft reported problems and said it needed assistance. It then landed on the interstate between Long Shoals and Airport roads.

The airport deployed a fire truck for mutual aid, airport officials said. Skyland Fire and Rescue and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol are on scene.

According to the NCDOT, I-26 westbound will be closed indefinitely in the area. A detour has been set up.

Detour:

Motorists traveling on I-26 West must take Exit 40 (Airport Road). Turn right onto Airport Road and follow it to U.S. 25 North to I-40 West. Continue on I-40 West to Exit 47 (NC 191). Follow NC 191 North to re-access I-26 West. Several places, including the WLOS newsroom, have experienced power surges and outages.

According to the Duke Energy Power Outage Map, about 3,300 customers in that area are without electricity. The website does not give a reason for the outages. But as of 9:15, those outages were down to three customers.

[mabarker1]

Videos at Website.

[mabarker1]

Plane mostly burned except for the tail section. No info on injuries or fatalities yet.

[chajin]

Interstates, IIRC, are designed so that every fifth mile is a straight line without any curves, so that a plane could land on the highway in an emergency—or if air bases/airports were all nuked in a future atomic holocaust.

[Macho MAGA Man]

You are correct.

[eyedigress]

Wow. I was at exit 40 today. I live 2.5 hours away.

I left that area around noon.

[mabarker1]

Video:

https://youtu.be/YkfSq7FBR6s

[mabarker1]

Just “up the road a piece.” From Me. (Mooresville)

[mabarker1]

Yes, planned for use by B-52’s if required. More planning for the Cold War.

[metmom]

Interstates, IIRC, are designed so that every fifth mile is a straight line without any curves, so that a plane could land on the highway in an emergency—or if air bases/airports were all nuked in a future atomic holocaust.

I never knew that. That's a fascinating piece of trivia.

[metmom]

The video shows a charred mess.

I sure hope nobody got seriously injured in that. Burns are the worst.

[Berlin_Freeper]

How come automobiles don’t have a sky mirror?

[mabarker1]

Yes they are. I’m thinking that the occupants probably didn’t fair well from the looks of the crash site.

[deport]

One Mile in Five: Debunking The Myth
by Richard F. Weingroff
Editor’s Note: In the following article, we let the Federal Highway Administration’s “unofficial historian” get something off his chest. He needed to vent.

I don’t know if 10 percent of the Russian government’s income comes from the sale of vodka. I don’t know if a cow can go upstairs, but not downstairs. And I certainly don’t know if a duck’s quack doesn’t echo.

But I do know the following statement is false: The Eisenhower Interstate Highway System requires that one mile in every five must be straight. These straight sections are usable as airstrips in times of war or other emergencies.

False though it is, this “fact” has become a fixture of Internet Web sites with names such as “You Probably Didn’t Know That ...” and “Weird Fact Heaven.”

https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/mayjune-2000/one-mile-five-debunking-myth

[mabarker1]

They do, it's just that nobody bothers to adjust them right. Most drivers don't use mirrors anyway.

The 405

[deport]

One Mile in Five: Debunking The Myth by Richard F. Weingroff

In the hope that this article will find its way into Public Roads and Public Roads Online and will be seen by Internet surfers, I will conclude by saying that, for all I know, there are 293 ways to make change for a dollar, snails can sleep for three years without eating, and an ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. BUT NO LAW, REGULATION, POLICY, OR SLIVER OF RED TAPE REQUIRES THAT ONE OUT OF FIVE MILES OF THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM MUST BE STRAIGHT. Trust me on that. Please! Editor's Note: Mr. Weingroff reports that his blood pressure improved considerably shortly after writing this article. Richard F. Weingroff, who works in the Federal Highway Administration's Office of Infrastructure, is an information liaison specialist who also doesn't like being asked, "So what the heck is an information liaison specialist anyway?"

[metmom]

Ok, so it’s just another urban legend.

[eyedigress]

That is not a good place for a landing. Wall to wall big rigs and construction barriers everywhere.

This will not have a good outcome.

[Zuriel]

Illinois has a LOT of interstate highway (I-24, I-39, I-55, I-57, I-64, I-70, I-72, I-74, I-80, I-88, I-90, I-94, I-155, I-255, I-270, I-280, I-290, I-294, I-355, and I-474.

I’ve think I’ve trucked on every mile of it, except the Chicago Skyway.

Probably 75% of those miles are straight enough, wide enough, and flat enough for regional jets or smaller.

[Zuriel]

Yeah, no doubt a myth, but see my list on #18. Aside from avoiding overpasses, probably at least on 3/4th of IL interstate miles regional jets might knock down some signs, but little private planes have little problem anywhere outside of the metros.

[Apple Pan Dowdy]

Notice that the plane landed/crashed near the Exit 40 (Airport Road). He was right beside the Asheville airport ….could see it from there, but the word here is that his motor quit so he could not make the few feet more to the airport.