Pilot Escapes Uninjured After Emergency Landing on US 17

Courtesy Polk County Sheriff's office

An emergency forced a small plane to be landed on US 17 south of Bartow early Thursday. No one was injured in the incident.

Bringing a plane to Bartow for an inspection was supposed to be a routine flight from Fort Myers for Robert Mosier, 45, of Winter Haven. When the plane in question began to lose power near Homeland with no airport in sight, Mosier proved his worth as a pilot.

At about 11:05 Thursday morning Mosier guided the small replica war plane to a safe landing on the northbound lanes of US 17 near Homeland Garfield Road in Bartow.

Mosier is a commercial pilot but also works part-time moving small planes from one place to another. He had been hired to bring the plane to Bartow for an inspection before being sold, a routine occurrence.

Thinking quickly in accordance with his training, Mosier immediately reacted to the engine failure by looking for a safe place to land the aircraft. He saw that there was room enough on the highway, which was carrying little to no traffic at the time. He was able to safely make an emergency landing on U.S. Hwy 17. After landing, he maneuvered the plane into the grass median so that it would not block traffic.

Courtesy Polk County Sheriff's office

This replica war plane was left undamaged after its engine lost power near Homeland, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing on US 17, which was thankfully not busy at the time.

Mosier was not injured, and no charges are being considered due to the emergency nature of the landing.