DULLES, Va. — The Federal Aviation Administration said it plans to release its preliminary report on an emergency plane landing on Loudoun County Parkway. On Friday, the plane was headed from Dulles Airport to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, when something went wrong.
All seven people aboard the plane were OK. No one on the ground was hurt either. Virginia State Police identified the pilot as Ahmed Awais, 27, a Florida resident. Passengers included four adults and a 15-year-old boy, police said.
The plane landed in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway near Arcola Mills Drive, where it stayed until just before 6 p.m.
"The pilot was able to safely land the plane in the roadway without striking any vehicles. The only damage that occurred was to the guardrail off the right side of the Parkway," Virginia State Police said.
A WUSA9 review of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) data found no prior incidents involving the plane, a 2003 Cessna Caravan 208B, or the owner, Southern Airways Express.
Stan Little, CEO of Southern Airways, released the following statement:
"We are relieved to report there were no injuries, and all passengers are safe and sound. We are thankful to our pilots, who did exactly what they were trained to do -- to put the safety of our passengers first. We are working closely with the authorities to thoroughly investigate the situation, and we will take all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of our passengers and our fleet."
Southern Airways Express was founded in 2013 and is based in Palm Beach, Florida. The commuter airline serves 40 U.S. cities stretching from Nantucket Island in Massachuetts to Honolulu, according to its website.
While Friday saw snow across the DMV, FAA investigators have not said what caused the emergency landing.
NTSB data shows the agency has investigated approximately a half-dozen emergency landings a year in Virginia and Maryland since 2016. The landings occasionally result in injury, but rarely death.
In June 2021, a student pilot was injured after making a forced landing in a field near Easton, Maryland, after the engine in his Piper PA-28 Cherokee lost power. The aircraft was destroyed by a fire following the crash.
In September 2022, a pilot was killed in a crash near Afton, Virginia, after striking wooded terrain while trying to make an emergency landing at the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport.
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