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Disasters

Small plane clips pickup truck in emergency landing on Florida road, no one hurt

The sheriff's office says two pilots were aboard and a mechanical problem forced the landing, and the FAA is leading the investigation.

6 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from liberal outlets
Liberal2 outletsA miraculous escape with no injuriesCenter0 outletslittle coverageConservative4 outletsDramatic video and a close call after a deadly crash
ABRAnews EditorialPublished 1 min read
Overview

A small plane made an emergency landing on Bayshore Road near Interstate 75 in the Fort Myers area of Florida on Saturday, Nov. 7, and clipped the back of a moving pickup truck. The Lee Sheriff's Office said two pilots were aboard and a mechanical issue forced them down. The truck was heading east, the same direction as the plane.

No injuries were reported. Flight tracking data shows the plane, identified as a Cessna 172, took off from Sebring and came down roughly 50 minutes later. Sheriff Carmine Marceno said the incident had a positive outcome and credited deputies, state transportation crews and fire rescue.

The Federal Aviation Administration is leading the investigation. Authorities have not released the nature of the mechanical failure or named the pilots and the pickup driver. Driving a truck and trailer on the same road, Brandon Hinson told WGCU the plane landed "probably 20 maybe 30 feet" behind the truck and trailer he was driving.

Less than a week earlier, on Nov. 1, a Learjet crashed in Palm Beach County and all nine people aboard died. Federal investigators are still working to determine the cause.

Key figures
  • twopeople aboard the small planeThe Guardian
  • about 50 minutesflight time from Sebring to the emergency landing, per flight tracking dataFox News
  • ninepeople killed in the Learjet crash on Nov. 1Fox News
  • 20 maybe 30 feethow far behind his truck the plane landed, per driver Brandon HinsonDaily Caller

Three sides of the story

2Liberal0cen…4Conservative

6 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from liberal outlets

Tap a color or swipe sideways to switch sides.

Liberal2 outlets

A miraculous escape with no injuries

The Guardian opens by saying that, "miraculously," no one was injured. It describes sheriff's office video showing a Cessna 172 "grazing over" the truck as it came down. It cites an FAA statement that the pilot reported an engine issue, and flight tracking data on the Sebring takeoff.

It quotes Sheriff Carmine Marceno: "Couldn't have been a better outcome. Grateful doesn't come close!" Marceno also said, as the Guardian reports, that sheriff's patrol deputies and the state transportation department relocated the aircraft and that the FAA is working to take over the investigation.

The Guardian ends by mentioning that a business jet with nine people aboard had crashed in a south Florida neighborhood a week earlier. Al Jazeera English's report is headlined "Plane clips truck during emergency landing on busy Florida road" and says the landing came "much to the shock of drivers."

Center0 outlets

Outlets on this side gave the story little coverage.

Conservative4 outlets

Dramatic video and a close call after a deadly crash

Fox News says the plane "turned a Florida road into an emergency runway" and describes video of the wheels touching down and the wing clipping the pickup. The New York Post calls it a "heart-pounding" landing and says the road was packed with traffic. The Daily Caller and The Daily Wire add driver Brandon Hinson, who told WGCU the plane landed "probably 20 maybe 30 feet" behind his truck and trailer.

Both also say authorities have not released the nature of the failure or named the pilots or the driver. All four outlets repeat Sheriff Carmine Marceno's statement saying the event ended favorably and nobody was hurt. Fox News, The Daily Wire and the Post also include his remark that, given recent aviation accidents, they are especially grateful everyone is safe.

All four connect the landing to the Learjet crash that killed nine, and The Daily Wire recounts air traffic control audio from that crash.

Where outlets disagree
All sources: 6 articles from 6 outlets

Liberal (2)

Conservative (4)

Related
  1. Learjet crashes in South Florida, killing all nine aboard, transportation secretary says
  2. Investigators find Learjet tail part miles from Florida crash that killed nine
  3. Small plane clips pickup truck in emergency landing on Florida road, no one hurtThis story
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