Bob
6th July 2004, 00:02
When a small plane made an emergency landing on a busy Beirut highway the pilot had the presence of mind to first stick his head out of the window and yell at a biker riding below to stop the traffic.
Airport officials said the Cessna 172 was on a training flight when it developed mechanical problems. "I heard my neighbours shouting and came out to look," said Mohammad Matariya, who lives nearby.
"I saw the plane starting to come down, then I saw the pilot put his head out of the window and tell a boy on a motorbike: 'Stop the traffic, I have to land!'"
There were no injuries and no visible damage to the plane, which landed on a road on the southern edge of the Lebanese capital. Soldiers sealed off the area.
Airport officials said the Cessna 172 was on a training flight when it developed mechanical problems. "I heard my neighbours shouting and came out to look," said Mohammad Matariya, who lives nearby.
"I saw the plane starting to come down, then I saw the pilot put his head out of the window and tell a boy on a motorbike: 'Stop the traffic, I have to land!'"
There were no injuries and no visible damage to the plane, which landed on a road on the southern edge of the Lebanese capital. Soldiers sealed off the area.