Plane lands on Victorian freeway

Thick fog forced a light aircraft pilot to make an emergency landing on an unopened Victorian freeway this morning.

The pilot and his passenger, both from Victoria, took off from Tyabb airport but struggled to navigate through the fog shrouding much of Melbourne.

Shortly after noon, police were alerted by a witness who phoned triple-zero to say the Cessna 172 had touched down on the Peninsula Link freeway.

Police arrived at the scene to find the 50-year-old pilot and his 44-year-old passenger had landed safely on the 27-kilometre stretch of highway, which is currently under construction.

A Victoria Police spokesperson told The Age the pair had rented the light aircraft.
“Due to weather issues with the low lying fog, they’ve decided, as a safety precaution, to set down,” the spokesman said.

“There were no mechanical issues or anything like that, and no traffic hazard was caused by the actual plane.

“The good thing is he’s done the right thing by being cautious instead of pushing on in that sort of weather.”

Police also reported no one was injured in the incident.

The Peninsula Link freeway will join EastLink at Carrum Downs and the Mornington Peninsula Freeway at Mount Martha, and is expected to open next year.

A spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said a full report would determine whether the landing would be investigated further.

Source: The Age
Author: Philippa Lees, Approving editor: Will Jackson

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