A pilot landed a Cessna 185 on eastbound E-470 Friday when he experienced trouble gaining altitude shortly after taking off from Centennial Airport. No one was injured.
The pilot, Tim Klingaman, and two other men were aboard the six-seat, single engine Skywagon aircraft, which took off shortly before 3 p.m., said Becky O’Guin, Parker Fire District spokeswoman.
“We don’t know what the trouble was,” O’Guin said.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
The pilot drove the plane across the median and his wing clipped a tree in between the westbound lane and the westbound ramp before the aircraft rolled down an embankment and came to rest. “The plane managed to stay upright the entire time,” O’Guin said.
As of 7 p.m., the plane was in the process of being towed away and the westbound ramp remained closed. The highway is open.
The plane, which came from Arizona, was headed for South Dakota.
