Pilot Makes Emergency Landing on Highway

FALL OVER Mass.--A pilot who ran into mechanical trouble moments after taking off yesterday afternoon landed his plane safely on the first clear runway he could find: Route 24.

Traffic was light on the north-bound lane and neither Zerros Zachary nor his Cessna 15 single-engine two-seater was damaged, said Mary Culver, spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Zachary, of Somerset, had been practicing landings and takeoffs at nearby Fall River Airport when he was forced to land on the highway about 12:45 p.m., said state Trooper Daniel Bigelow.

Traffic was backed up for more than two hours before the plane was towed back to the airport.

Still, Zachary likely will not be cited for landing on the highway.

"When a pilot is in difficulty, he may land wherever he can and do so safely. This just happens to have been Route 24," Culver said.