Plane makes emergency landing on snowy highway outside Washington
Southern Airways Express Flight 246 landed just before 1 p.m. with seven souls on board, according to the FAA.
Small plane makes emergency landing in Virginia
A small plane has made an emergency landing on a road near Dulles International outside Washington
DULLES, Va. – A commuter plane made an emergency landing Friday on a snowy road near Dulles International Airport outside of Washington.
Southern Airways Express Flight 246 landed just before 1 p.m. with seven souls on board, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
It is unclear why the plane needed to make the landing on Loudoun County Parkway, but local authorities and the airline said none of the five passengers and two crew members were injured.
Images from the scene showed that the plane sustained damage and crashed into a guardrail along the side of the road.
![According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway.]()
Image 1 of 4According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway. (Lili Zheng / FOX 5 DC)
![According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway.]()
Image 2 of 4According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway. (Lili Zheng / FOX 5 DC)
![According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway.]()
Image 3 of 4According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway. (Lili Zheng / FOX 5 DC)
![According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway.]()
Image 4 of 4According to officials, around 12:51 p.m., Virginia State Police responded to a call about a small, private aircraft making an emergency landing in the DIREX lanes of the Loudoun County Parkway. (Lili Zheng / FOX 5 DC)
FlightAware showed the small private plane took off at 12:45 p.m. ET and landed two minutes later. The plane was scheduled to fly to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
The plane appeared to only reach an altitude of less than 1,000 feet before landing on the parkway.
It was snowing pretty consistently, but it's too early to tell if the weather may have been a factor in the incident.
"We are relieved to report there were no injuries, and all passengers are safe and sound," Stan Little, CEO of Southern Airways, said in a statement. "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."
North of Loudoun County, at Reagan International Airport, passengers have been dealing with bad weather. Flights out of Reagan are experiencing a ground delay of up to 39 minutes.
The FAA has begun an investigation into the incident.