Pilot Makes Emergency Landing on Downtown Chicago Street

He Used Traffic Signal to Time His Descent

John Pedersen's single engine plane suffered damage while he flew it this morning. He couldn't make it the O'Hare or Midway Airports. So he landed in downtown Chicago on Lake Shore Drive. Pedersen did his best to avoid hitting cars:

Pedersen. who said he had been flying for five years, had decided the drive was his best landing spot. If timed correctly, he figured, he could bring down the plane while traffic was stopped at a red light.

"You pick a landing spot that's not going to jeopardize anybody else," he said.

When the light on East Balbo Avenue turned red, he brought the plane down in the northbound lanes, its nose facing north.

It was a tricky landing, but he stuck it, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said admiringly.

Two cars actually hit the airplane after it landed – and then, mysteriously, sped off, Pedersen said. One can only imagine what their drivers were thinking.

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