Passenger decides to forego rest of ride

By CALEB FREY

Staff Reporter

LAPLACE – Louisiana State Police are often responding to stranded motorist calls on U.S. 51, adjacent to the I-10, but its rare they get the call about a plane stranded on the roadway.

At approximately 4 p.m. Saturday, State Police Troop B responded to the call of a small aircraft forced to make an emergency landing on U.S. 51, also known as Frontage Road. The pilot of the Piper PA-22 plane, Houston W. Hunter, said a miscalculation was made when the plane was fueled before the original takeoff that resulted in the plane having to land on Frontage Road.

The FAA arrived immediately on the scene to interview the pilot and his passenger and inspect the plane before allowing it to return to the air.

This type of incident is not something the State Police handle very frequently, according to State Police Spokesman TFC Joseph Piglia.

&#8220It was definitely not the normal call for service. We get the call from motorists all the time but not from planes running out of fuel,” Piglia said.” &#8220We’re just glad no one was hurt and everything had a happy ending.”

The passenger in the aircraft at the time of the emergency landing did not return to the plane and was given a ride to the nearest telephone at his request.