Pilot Lands Private Plane on I-80 Near Grantsville
A young Utah pilot calmly avoided another Utah Plane Crash on February 4, 2009. According to KSL News, 21-year-old David Goodwin was flying a rented Cessna airplane when he suddenly ran out of fuel. Warning his passenger to brace himself, Goodwin proceeded to land the plane on Interstate 80 in Tooele County. The two departed from Spanish Fork airport and were planning on refueling in Tooele. Goodwin told reporters that something told him to stay above I-80 and head toward Salt Lake rather than Tooele Airport. His gut instinct proved correct, as the plane ran out of gas and the engine died at 1,500 feet. Had he headed toward Tooele Airport, he would have had to land in the water. Goodwin said he lined-up the headlights and taillights of the cars on I-80 to assess how close to the ground the plane was. After landing safely on the interstate, Goodwin rolled the plane to the side of the road. Fortunately, no vehicles were involved in the accident and both Goodwin and his passenger received no injuries.
