Seeing the twisted remains of a small aircraft on a highway is never good, but amazingly, everyone involved in this crash walked away. Moreover, a passenger recorded video of the frightening descent and impact that literally snapped this airplane in two.
The crash occurred in Panama on May 1, according to Newsroom Panama. The four-seat Cessna 172 was returning from Guna Yala, a province on the country's northeast coast when an unspecific mechanical failure occurred while approaching Panama City. The aircraft was at capacity with three passengers and the pilot, and as seen in the video above from ARFF World on YouTube, it came down overtop a highway surrounded by trees. The video then cuts to the Cessna's interior, filmed from the front right seat during the descent. A post from Breaking Aviation News & Video on Twitter offers the passenger video with original sound instead of a voice-over.
Passenger films their Cessna 172 crashing onto a highway near La Amistad in Panama City. The three passengers and pilot were treated for only minor injuries. pic.twitter.com/8rJSMCdlYo
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 2, 2023
It appears the pilot may have been attempting to land on a wider road to the right, as the road ahead had a bridge right in the aircraft's glide slope. The Cessna banks right just before impact, but the altitude was too low and the small plane goes into a stall. A series of hard impacts are heard before everything comes to a halt, ironically landing on the bridge the pilot was trying to avoid. Amazingly, the Twitter video ends with everyone running clear of the aircraft.
It's unknown if the pilot's final destination was Panama City. Newsroom Panama reports the pilot wasn't able to land at nearby Marcos A. Gelabert International Airport, thus leading to the emergency landing on the highway. The crash temporarily closed the airport.
While this touchdown wasn't as smooth as other emergency highway landings we've seen, at least the occupants survived with just minor injuries. The same cannot be said for the airplane, which broke in half just behind the cabin. The age of this particular Cessna is unknown, but the high-wing 172 design dates back to 1955.
