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'It seemed like a lifetime': Pilot recounts emergency landing on Phoenix street
The pilot said engine trouble and smoke left no time to declare mayday before he belly-landed the seaplane and avoided cars and buildings.
- On Sunday, pilot Michael Tragarz performed an emergency landing with a 1940s seaplane on 7th Street near Missouri Avenue in Phoenix, with all three people aboard walking away safely without striking vehicles or buildings.
- Engine issues erupted less than 20 minutes into the flight, filling the cockpit with smoke and leaving Tragarz only 45 seconds to react before he lacked time to declare a mayday emergency.
- To execute the landing, Tragarz avoided power lines and maneuvered under an overhead sign. Capt. DJ Lee of the Phoenix Fire Department called the outcome "a miracle" given how busy 7th Street is.
- The aircraft struck a water main during landing, but firefighters quickly contained the leak. The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the engine failure's cause.
- Tragarz credited his safety to decades of aviation training and muscle memory developed through his career. He and his two passengers walked away without requiring hospitalization, with the pilot expressing gratitude for the outcome.
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Pilot who made an emergency landing on a street in Phoenix speaks out
PHOENIX (NBC, KYMA) - A pilot and two passengers walked away with only minor injuries after a seaplane was forced to make an emergency landing in central Phoenix Sunday. Pilot Mike Tragarz shows NBC affiliate KPNX the moments before he made the emergency landing on Seventh Street. "We're talking about 45 seconds. It seemed like a lifetime. It really wasn't," Tragarz shared. Tragarz and two passengers were out for a joyride over Phoenix in his 19…
abc10 Sacramento+12 Reposted by 12 other sources
'It seemed like a lifetime': Pilot recounts emergency landing on Phoenix street
When smoke filled his 1940s plane, Mike Tragarz pulled off a "miracle" landing on a Phoenix road: "We’re talking about 45 seconds. It seemed like a lifetime." (KPNX)
·Sacramento, United States
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources20
Leaning Left2Leaning Right0Center17Last UpdatedBias Distribution89% Center
Bias Distribution
- 89% of the sources are Center
89% Center
11%
C 89%
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