Small airplane makes emergency landing on Route 1 in Delaware

An Air Force airplane landed on a busy Delaware highway during rush hour and remained on the road as of 8 p.m., according to a Delaware state police spokesman.

No one was hurt when the Cessna carrying a pilot and flight instructor was forced to land in a field near Dover Air Force Base, state police Cpl. Gary Fournier said, adding that the plane was expected to be removed from the highway and its northbound lanes reopened sometime shortly after 8 p.m.

The plane landed in the field, crashed through a fence, then was steered along the shoulder of the highway at about 5:30 p.m. After the pilot steered it along the highway's shoulder for a short time, he then pulled it into the grassy median where it finally came to a stop.

No one was injured, including five people in a vehicle that swerved to avoid the plane and crashed into a center railing of Route 1, Fournier said.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why the military plane had to land unexpectedly, he said.