Damaged plane lands on highway

BROWNSBURG, Ind. – A small plane landed on a stretch of highway that was under construction Monday after the pilot reported having mechanical problems, officials said.\nThe pilot told officials he was heading to Eagle Creek Airport on the northwest side of Indianapolis when he decided the twin-engine plane would not make it and spotted a section of Ronald Reagan Parkway being built in Hendricks County.\nThe planed landed safely at about 10 a.m., but a wing was damaged when it clipped a piece of construction equipment, Ryan Miller of the Brownsburg Fire Territory said. The pilot and the other person on board suffered no injuries.\n“Had any part of this scenario been different, it could have been very tragic,” Miller said. “To have to initiate an emergency landing and finding an area that’s safe enough to land your aircraft without injuring yourself or damaging the aircraft any more than he did, I think is very lucky.”\nThe section of highway being built in the suburbs west of Indianapolis is unpaved, but the packed gravel made a relatively safe landing site, Miller said.\nInformation on the identities of those on the plane or where the flight originated was not immediately released.