Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Sunrise Highway

By Timothy Bolger Posted on July 10, 2014

A small, single-engine plane made an emergency landing in the median of Sunrise Highway shortly after taking off from a nearby airport in East Moriches on Thursday afternoon, Suffolk County police said.

The ultralight Challenger plane took off from Lufker/Spadaro Airport at 1:30 p.m. and one minute later, the plane experienced engine trouble, police said.

The pilot, Frank Fierro, tried to return to the airport, but was forced to land on the median of Route 27 near exit 61, police said.

Officers who responded to the scene helped airport personnel tow the plane back to the airport.

No injuries were reported and the plane was not damaged.

About the Author

Timothy Bolger

Timothy Bolger is the Editor in Chief of the Long Island Press who’s been working to uncover unreported stories since shortly after it launched in 2003. When he’s not editing, getting hassled by The Man or fielding cold calls to the newsroom, he covers crime, general interest and political news in addition to reporting longer, sometimes investigative features. He won’t be happy until everyone is as pissed off as he is about how screwed up Lawn Guyland is.