MESA, AZ — Morning commuters got an unexpected jolt in downtown Mesa Tuesday after a small single-engine plane made an emergency landing on Main Street — narrowly avoiding traffic, power lines and a nearby canal.
Mesa police dashcam video captured the dramatic moment a two-seat Piper Cherokee landed safely around the intersection of Main Street and Gilbert Road, a busy area dotted with cars, businesses, and a Valley Metro stop. Both pilots on board, a flight instructor and a student, escaped without injury.
Witnesses and first responders quickly sprang into action, helping the pilots push the undamaged aircraft to a nearby parking lot as traffic backed up and crowds gathered. Streets in the area were temporarily closed for about an hour as mechanics worked to remove the plane using a winch and a flatbed truck.
Nick Pusch, a mechanic at the Golf Cart Garage across the street from the scene, described the unusual sight.
“I came outside, and next thing you know, there’s a plane sitting here underneath this traffic light,” Pusch said. “He must have been flying in this way and landed just before he got to those power lines. If you come from this way, there’s power lines and flagpoles all down the street.”
Mesa Fire Capt. Brian Davie said the department prepared for a far worse scenario when the call came in.
“We prepare for the worst, but today was just an amazing outcome to see two people standing outside their plane with no damage,” Davie said. “No cars wrecked. Absolutely no one was hurt today.”
The Piper Cherokee is registered to Venture West Airline Pilot Academy, which operates out of a hangar near Falcon Field. Owner David Lines praised his pilots’ quick thinking.
“For us today, everything aligned properly, and we’re thankful to a higher being for keeping everyone safe,” Lines said. “It’s not the phone call you want to get as an owner, but I’m just glad everyone’s OK.”
The FAA is investigating the cause of the mechanical issue that forced the emergency landing.
For Mesa residents and morning travelers, the safe outcome to a potentially tragic situation offered a collective sigh of relief.
This is the latest in a series of plane crashes or hard landings in Arizona in recent weeks.
Last week, a plane went off a runway at Falcon Field, but the pilot was not injured.
Earlier this month, a plane was forced to land on a street in a busy area of Phoenix. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
A week before that incident, two people were taken to the hospital after a plane crash near Cave Creek Landfill.
Two people were killed in a fiery Marana plane crash, and another incident occurred in Fort Mohave involving a plane that crashed into a home in early April.
Last month, a plane crashed into a neighborhood, hitting homes in Phoenix.
