GAINESVILLE, Ga. — A small plane made an emergency landing on a busy northeast Georgia road Monday, striking three vehicles and sending two people to the hospital with minor injuries.
Authorities say the single engine Hawker Beechcraft Bonanza was flying from Gainesville’s Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport to Cherokee County Regional Airport in Canton when it began experiencing engine trouble shortly after takeoff. The National Transportation Safety Board said the plane turned back but did not have enough power to reach the airport.
This image provided by Gainesville Police Department shows a small plane that made an emergency landing on a street in Gainesville, Ga., Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (Gainesville, Ga., Police Department via AP)
The aircraft came down on Browns Bridge Road, one of the main traffic routes through the area, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta.
Air traffic control audio captured one of the pilots expressing fear the plane would not make it.
“I think we’re not going to make it,” the pilot said on the recording. “Please tell my wife, Molly, I love her, and my parents. I love them so much.”
More than 10 minutes later, the recording includes the pilot saying, “We’re going to be fine.”
Pilot Thomas Rogers later told WAGA TV the crew tried to glide back to the airport before realizing they would not make it.
We lost our engine taking off out of Gainesville,” Rogers said. “We tried to glide back, did everything by the book, but realized we weren’t going to make it back with how far out we were, so we came down on the road.
Gainesville police Capt. Kevin Holbrook said the plane struck three vehicles during the landing, knocking a fuel tank loose and into one of the cars. Two people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
The fact that they were able to land in the middle of hundreds of vehicles and only hit three of them, no power lines is very remarkable,” Holbrook said. “The fact that no one was seriously injured or killed is just astonishing.
The NTSB is reviewing the incident.
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