Highway shocker as small plane pulls off emergency landing on 78

You expect certain things on a New Jersey highway. You expect even the unexpected. Like a deer running in front of you when it’s not mating season and it's twelve noon. Or a drunk fool doing a Jersey slide to their exit from the far left lane.

New Jersey keeps us drivers on our toes. Pennsylvania is no different, except for even more deer. But no one expected what happened on Saturday on I-78.

At Solberg airport in New Jersey, a small plane took off that morning at 8:48.

It was piloted by a 65-year-old man from Michigan, and he had a 34-year-old New Jersey woman as a passenger on board.

Things went sideways quickly.

According to nj.com, the pilot suddenly faced engine issues shortly after his takeoff on his way to Indiana. He attempted to get to a local airport for an emergency landing but couldn’t make it.

Instead, he had to put it down on a stretch of 78 that cuts through Lehigh County, Pa.

He made it and with no injuries reported. Traffic was shut down of course, then the plane had to be flat-bedded away.

Read More: Newark Liberty Airport flight disruptions worst list 2026

While the pilot pulled it off, this was no easy feat.

One witness by the name of Victor Machese said he landed on the two eastbound lanes and that the plane’s wingspan took up the whole highway. “It was an Easter miracle,” the witness said.

Or a very calm and cool pilot. Or perhaps a little bit of both.