911 calls from Lake Shore Drive plane landing released
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The 911 calls made by shocked drivers as they watched a small plane land on Lake Shore Drive at the end of July have just been released.
The single-engine plane's pilot made a remarkable landing in the 3800-block of the southbound lanes of Lake Shore Drive on a busy Friday afternoon. In the calls, you can hear the shock and initial disbelief from both callers and dispatchers.
Caller: We just had a plane go down along the lake shore
Dispatch: Like went down on Lake Shore? Where?
Caller: Yeah, uh it was probably just south of Navy Pier
LISTEN: Pilot's mayday call before landing on Lake Shore Drive
The pilot told Midway's air traffic control he was having engine issues and losing power quickly. So, air traffic controllers told him to set the plane down on Lake Shore Drive
Dispatch: Did he land or is he landing?
Caller: Yeah, he said he's trying to put it down on Lake Shore Drive just about three miles south of the Stevenson and Lake Shore Drive
When Chicago police contacted the fire department, at first there was a bit of disbelief.
CFD: No way. The phones would have been ringing off -- Well, actually we just got it
CPD: We're in the red so people are calling about it.
Several calls were made by drivers witnessing the event, concerned over why it was there in the first place.
Dispatch: Fire Department. How may I help you?
Caller: There was a plane it just crashed by 31st by the lakefront. Overpass, lakefront. A yellow plane.
Dispatch: A plane?
Caller: Yeah, a plane. An airplane.
Authorities said the plane flew under the 35th street footbridge as it landed in the southbound lanes.
Caller: It was a two-seater, single engine plane. It looks like it was coming down for a possible emergency landing.
The plane was traveling to Cleveland from Kenosha. There were no injuries, no damage and no roadside accidents. The only problem that day was the traffic.
WATCH: Plane moved off Lake Shore Drive into the grass
