It’s a bird, it’s a plane, yes, it’s a plane on the highway. 407

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Motorists on Highway 407 in Markham were undoubtedly surprised to see a small plane make a “textbook” emergency landing in the active lanes of the busy turnpike on Wednesday morning.

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Ontario Provincial Police say the Piper PA-28 Cherokee Warrior, with two experienced pilots on board, experienced engine problems shortly after taking off from Buttonville Municipal Airport and was forced to land in the eastbound lanes of the 407 just before 11 a.m. M.

“This was their maiden voyage after their 100-hour inspection, which is a typical inspection that occurs routinely,” said OPP Sgt. Kerry Schmidt said at the scene. “And according to the pilots… they did the race on the ground, they had no power problems, they took off from Buttonville airport and as soon as they leveled off… they made a left turn to follow air traffic control.

“Apparently they switched the tanks from left to right … they noticed that the fuel was a little lower in one tank than the other, but still at the top,” he said, explaining that when changing the fuel tanks, the pilots “noticed a power outage.”

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In a video later posted on the Ontario Provincial Police – Highway Safety Division Facebook page, one of the relieved-looking pilots recounted the ordeal to Schmidt, explaining that the plane was in the air less than one minute and had climbed above 2,000 feet when engine failure began to occur.

Ibrahim, a flight instructor for the Caribbean Flying Club, said they contacted Buttonville Airport and were initially directed to proceed to Billy Bishop Airport.

But when the engine started to “sputter,” he said they knew they needed a new plan.

They quickly realized that returning to Buttonville was not an option and began searching the ground for a safe place to land.

“It was a really tough decision,” he said, adding that either leaving the plane on 407 or hitting a building.

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“We declare a relief, let them know the situation,” said Ibrahim. “And we let them know that we are heading to the highway.”

While the road is almost always busy, he said traffic opened up under them just as they began their descent.

A traffic camera video, posted on Twitter by 407 ETR, captured the plane as it glided over the highway. 404, lowered into the left lanes of 407, slid under a road sign, and came to a stop.

As a pilot himself, Schmidt said dealing with engine failure is a big part of training, so pilots are always “looking for a suitable landing site” while flying.

“It’s something that’s ingrained in you,” he said.

Schmidt said the road was “by far the best place” the pilots could have chosen and was “a perfect, textbook forced-approach landing.”

A situation that could easily have been disastrous ended with no injuries.

“No other vehicles involved, obviously there are no power lines in the area,” Schmidt said. “The road is quite wide, straight and flat, and it worked perfectly.”

He said the plane was heading home to the Caribbean Flying Club in Grimsby.

Only one lane of the 407 eastbound near Woodbine remained open to traffic while the OPP investigated the emergency landing.

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