Truck Driver And Teen Make For A Good Landing On Roadway An in-air emergency turned into an story of teamwork when a truck driver stepped in to help a teenage pilot safely land a powerless plane on a busy Florida roadway. Nico Bray, the 19-year-old pilot, said he was flying with a friend after taking off from Martin County, and was showing him different parts of north Palm Beach County when he realized the engine started to fail. While flying over Jupiter, his plane lost power, forcing him to make a decision he hoped he would never have to make. Bray, an experienced pilot at just 19 years old, said he trained for moments like this. He tried different troubleshooting methods and then realized he had to land the plane somewhere safe. “It can happen so fast,” he said. “It hit me, like, no, this is real. Like, I actually don’t have any power to climb right now. I need to … I started looking at the ground immediately, to find a spot to land. And once you’re in that position, you just execute,” he said. “I knew I was only about 500 feet off the ground, so I knew I was going down for sure.” Bray said. Bray said he realized nearby coastal road, A1A, would be too tight for a safe landing, so he turned west and set his sights on Indiantown Road, right in the middle of afternoon traffic. “I’ve traveled down this road hundreds of times, and turning it into an airport for the day, it was not what I was expecting to do,” Bray said. As he lowered the plane, he saw a truck driver pull over to flag down traffic, telling other drivers to slow down as the plane was about to land. The driver slowed traffic and helped hold vehicles back, effectively clearing a path for the descending plane. Thanks to that quick thinking, Bray was able to guide the aircraft down safely without anyone being injured. The dramatic landing happened around 2:30 p.m., prompting multiple 911 calls from stunned drivers who watched the unexpected scene unfold. Fire crews were at the scene in less than three minutes. PBCFR provided more information saying that the small, single-engine plane had landed on the westbound lanes of Indiantown Road between Maplewood Road and Pennock Lane. Luckily, the plane did not hit any cars during the landing process. The plane was eventually pushed from the middle of the road into a nearby plaza parking lot, where crews were prepared to load it onto a flatbed truck to be taken away. Based on information from the FlightAware track log, the plane was in the air for less than 17 minutes. The 19-year-old says he earned his commercial pilot license about a year ago and has flown the plane many times before without any problems. After landing safely, Bray says the reality of the moment didn’t hit him until he saw his mom again. “Very grateful for her. She’s funded my dreams of becoming a pilot,” Bray said. “I’m glad to be able to hug her again, for sure.” Bray says the experience won’t stop him from flying. He says becoming a pilot has been his dream since he was five years old.