SPARTA, Mich. — A plane had to make an emergency landing Thursday afternoon near Sparta.
According to police dispatchers the plane landed on M-37 near 10 Mile Road NW around 4 p.m.
The pilot, Steven Chanter said he was taking a student on a training flight from Fremont Airport to the Sparta Airport. Chanter said during their descent, there was engine trouble and the oil pressure gauge went down to zero. When the engine quit, Chanter took control of the plane and was able to safely land in the southbound lanes of Alpine Avenue.
"It's very intense and there's very little time to do very much," Chanter said. "We were only about a thousand feet off the ground. Everything happened in about less than a minute."
No one was injured and the airplane was not damaged.
"Fortunately, the traffic was clear on southbound M-37," says Chanter. "And there was no traffic on 10 Mile. Once we cleared that intersection it was just a normal landing. It worked out."
The plane was taken to nearby Badgerow Orchards where FAA inspectors met to inspect the engine.
Chanter says his student got first hand training on how to react in an emergency.
"You hope that you prepare them enough so that if they have a problem they can put it down safely," he says. "It is a big relief to know you are on the ground and nobody is hurt."
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