Novice pilot lands plane safely on busy highway

Amazing footage of a trainee pilot successfully landing a plane on a busy dual carriageway after its engine malfunctioned has surfaced online.

During the flawless emergency landing, the novice pilot is filmed maneuvering the four-seater aircraft extremely calmly to avoid rush hour traffic.

Another vehicle can be seen on the raw footage trailing behind the plane after it touches down and takes up two lanes of the highway. A co-pilot is heard applauding the efforts of the young French Canadian flyer and repeats “good job”.



The 21-year-old pilot, Ugo Derouet, who has 180 hours of flying experience to date, was forced to make the landing on Quebec’s Highway 10 after its only engine cut out mid-air on Monday afternoon.

The plane had taken off from Bromont, and was destined for northwestern Quebec when Mr Derouet had to abort east of Montreal.

Accompanied by three other passengers, he saved all onboard without causing any harm to other motorists or damage to the aircraft.

A tow truck was called to take the plane away and road conditions returned to normal within an hour after landing, local police said.

Speaking of the ordeal, Derouet said: “This has to be one of the best landings I have ever made. It was not so bad because when we landed, we went at the same speed as the cars.”

“It was strange because people in cars saluted me after I landed. They were very nice. Many came to see if we were injured. It will not stop me from flying. I will not let this incident stop me from living my passion.”

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is now investigating the engine failure.