A small single-engine aircraft made an emergency landing in the middle of a busy highway in Garuva, located in the north of Santa Catarina, Brazil, narrowly avoiding moving cars and trucks.
The incident occurred on April 5, 2025, at 11:50 local time, at kilometer 15 of Highway 40, which runs from Brasília to Rio de Janeiro. The aircraft, a Flyer Pelican 500BR registered as PU-FAI, was carrying two people – the pilot and the owner of the aircraft.
According to the Aviation Safety Network (ASN), the aircraft took off from Fazenda Cachoeirinha Airport (SJVL) for a panoramic flight when it suddenly experienced an engine failure mid-flight.
Video footage and images captured by passengers on the road were shared on social media showing the pilot skillfully navigating the aircraft onto the highway without hitting any vehicles.
Um avião pousou agora pouco no meio da rodovia em Joinville-SC.
Parabéns ao piloto pela habilidade e por ter salvado vidas. 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/BBfPnkFn9r
— Gabriel (@pqdgg) April 5, 2025
@Arteris_ALS @grupobr277 acabamos de passar pelo km 18 da br 101 em Garuva e tem um avião no acostamento. Sabe o que aconteceu? pic.twitter.com/HZFfkw7klA
— Vinícius Moscato (@vinimoss) April 5, 2025
Neither of the passengers sustained any injuries, and the aircraft was later towed away. Local news outlet g1 reported that the aircraft came to a stop on the side of the road and was removed from the highway at 12:40 local time.
Mechanics were called to evaluate the aircraft’s condition, the g1 report continued. The wings were removed, and the aircraft was finally taken from the site around 17:35 local time.
The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has announced that investigators from the Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) were called to investigate the circumstances of the incident.
