A small plane made an emergency landing on the Rickenbacker Causeway Saturday afternoon, hitting a Metro-Dade Transit bus, but there were no injuries, police said.
The landing snarled traffic on a weekend for hours, causing all lanes to be closed for a time. Residents posted pictures of themselves waiting and passing by the aircraft. Some got out and walked around.
Miami-Dade police said the plane experienced an engine failure and made the emergency landing on the inbound lane. The pilot and three adult passengers exited the aircraft safely, as did the bus passengers and driver.
Police said the National Transportation Safety Board was sending an investigator.
The single-engine plane, listed as a Beechcraft Musketeer, took off from Homestead but started descending minutes later, passing over Key Biscayne at an altitude of less than 900 feet, according to the Flight Aware tracking site. It then made a sharp turn over Miami Beach and turned south, over Biscayne Bay.
The aircraft is registered to a Daniel Mosquera. Police could not confirm the pilot’s name or provide additional information, citing the NTSB investigation. Messages to the NTSB were not immediately returned.
Tony Winton is the editor-in-chief of the Key Biscayne Independent and president of Miami Fourth Estate, Inc. He worked previously at The Associated Press for three decades winning multiple Edward R. Murrow awards. He was president of the News Media Guild, a journalism union, for 10 years. Born in Chicago, he is a graduate of Columbia University. His interests are photography and technology, sailing, cooking, and science fiction.
