Pilot Makes Successful Emergency Landing In Field Off US 301

BRANDON, FL — A single-engine plane made an emergency landing without injury off of U.S. 301 near the Selmon Expressway Monday.

Just before 3 p.m., Hillsborough County 911 dispatchers received a phone call from a witness who noticed a small plane flying low to the ground.

David Presnell, a flight instructor with Atlas Aviation, took off in the Cessna 172R from Peter O' Knight Airport on Davis Island for a test flight following maintenance work on the engine of the plane. After about five minutes in the air, he noticed the RPM dropping and began to experience engine failure. Presnell, who has been a pilot for more than 20 years and a flight instructor for 4 1/2 years, used a cellphone tower with a flag billowing atop as a windsock to help guide him into a large, grassy field off of U.S. 301 near the Selmon Expressway.

Presnell completed the emergency landing with minimal damage to the plane and no injuries to himself or others.

"This is a best-case scenario for everyone involved," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "The field where the emergency landing happened is not too far from a very busy highway where hundreds of people were beginning the afternoon commute. I believe the decades of experience this flight instructor has and his quick thinking made all the difference."