Small plane makes emergency landing in Phoenix

PHOENIX (NBC, KYMA) - A small plane made an emergency landing in central Phoenix Sunday afternoon with three people on board.

They were all evaluated on scene by the Phoenix Fire Department (PFD) for minor injuries.

An unusual sight a plane sitting in the middle of Seventh Street in central Phoenix.

"Mike is our hero today," said Hanan Haskell, a passenger.

The pilot of the single-engine seaplane, Mike Tragarz, made an emergency landing between Missouri Avenue and Camelback Road Sunday afternoon.

"He saved our lives basically. He landed on Seventh and we're a little bit banged up, but we're okay," Haskell expressed.

Haskell says they took off from Hangar Haciendas, a private runway in Laveen and were out on a joyride over the valley when suddenly the engine quit.

"The engine started to make some weird sounds and the pilot tried to do the normal stuff to check it out. Then, I sit in the back and I noticed some smoke coming through so I told him smoke. The minute there's smoke, we shut the engine off because we don't want to have a fire," Haskell shared.

He says the pilot is very experienced and knew exactly what to do next, but a little divine intervention helped.

"We were only at about 2,500 feet. So, there's not much time without an engine until you hit the ground," Haskell explained. "At the last moment, he dipped his wing to not hit the street sign, which was amazing and that was it...There was no traffic. Somebody was watching out for us."

The plane stopped just short of a utility pole avoiding all buildings, cars and people on the way down.

"It's 100 percent a miracle. Again, this is a very busy street. It's always busy but for whatever reason, when he crashed in this little area, all of the traffic was away," said Capt. DJ Lee with PFD.

A landing that left those who witnessed it in awe.

"Incredible noise like I never heard anything like that before," said one witness.

"Whoever landed this thing was probably pretty skilled," said another witness.

"He landed it so perfectly. I've never seen anything like this in my life. It was a perfect landing," said another witness.

Haskell, a fellow pilot, says nothing prepares you for this feeling, and he's thankful to his friend for keeping them safe.

"There's no time to be scared. You just brace yourself and that's it and then you thank God after you land and you're alive," Haskell remarked.