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A single-engine airplane made a miraculous emergency landing on the Major Deegan Expressway Saturday, the Fire Department said. A man and two women emerged from the stalled plane just after 3:20 p.m. with only one minor injury between them, according to police.

'It's flying low! It's low!' Jarel Paul recalled his friend exclaiming, as they spotted the plane coming down while cruising on the Major Deegan.


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© Michael Schwartz/New York Daily NewsThe wheels nearly broke off the small plane upon landing.
A 50-year-old man and two women, aged 43 and 20, emerged from the fixed-wing Piper PA28 Cherokee that lost power just after 3:20 p.m. with only one minor injury between them, according to authorities and a police source.

The plane had departed Danbury Airport in Connecticut for a loop around the Statue of Liberty, Mayor de Blasio said.



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© Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily NewsThe 1966 aircraft landed behind Paul near the E. 233rd St. exit, somehow avoiding any cars.
On the way back the aircraft lost power, forcing the pilot to make the stellar landing in the middle lane of the northbound side of the expressway, avoiding all cars, authorities said.

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Michael Schwartz, account executive at Teradata, and the student pilot of a plane that landed on the Major Deegan Expressway.

"It is amazing," said Giovanna Schwartz, the wife of hero pilot Michael Schwartz.

"I'm just thankful he learned how to land well," the relieved wife told the Daily News from their South Salem, N.Y., home

plane landing major deegan
© James Keivom/New York Daily NewsThe single-engine fixed-wing Piper PA28 had lost power, police said.

Air traffic controllers had attempted to divert the plane to LaGuardia Airport but lost contact.

"When you hear a call like that, it causes a lot of puckering," said a Port Authority source. "That means a plane has crashed or there's a fire on the airplane. That's the 'Oh s--t' call."

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© James Keivom/New York Daily News
“It's flying low! It's low!” Jarel Paul, 25, of Nyack recalled his friend exclaiming as they cruised on the Major Deegan.

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© Mark Bonifacio/New York Daily News
An aerial view as NYPD Police and NYFD firefighters surround a small plane that made a emergency landing on the Major Deegan.

"It's flying low! It's low!" Paul, 25, recalled his friend exclaiming. "The propeller wasn't moving, and it went down right over us. It was gliding, he was trying to make a safe landing." The plane, built in 1966, landed behind Paul near the E. 233rd St. exit - exit 13 - in the Bronx. De Blasio was stunned no one died. "The situation was a bit of a miracle," he said at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Brooklyn.

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© New York Daily News
The small plane landed around 3:20 p.m. on the north-bound side of the highway near the E. 233rd St. exit in the Bronx.

Credit for the safe landing goes in large part to Department of Transportation worker Miguel Lopez, who was part of a pothole crew working on the Deegan when he saw the plane making its precipitous descent.

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© Dept. of Transportation
(From left to right) Miguel Lopez, Randall Sanders, Roy Kane, Adalbert Troche, Roger Charrette and Diego Luna were fixing potholes on the Major Deegan when the plane approached. Lopez quickly stopped traffic, giving the plane an empty space to land.

The quick-thinking Lopez stopped traffic giving the plane an empty runway, FDNY officials said.

"I thought I'd seen everything in my life...it's truly an extraordinary event." The plane belongs to Michael Schwartz of South Salem, N.Y., according to registration documents. The aircraft was officially registered in his name in July of last year.

Photos from the scene showed the aircraft's landing gear buckled on the expressway - but the plane intact. A police source said the emergency landing was not fuel-related. Fire officials said the plane hit some tree branches on the way down and leaked some fuel.

One female passenger suffered head injuries not believed to be life threatening, authorities said. All three were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital. Radio traffic from first responders hinted at the mind-boggling scene.

"It's upright! It's in one piece! Looks to be a solid landing!" said one incredulous responder as she arrived on the scene.

The plane belongs to Michael Schwartz of South Salem, N.Y., according to records. Efforts to reach him were to no avail. Federal Aviation Administration records list him as a student pilot as of April of last year. A police source said Saturday that the pilot at the controls had a full license.

The aircraft was officially registered in his name in July 2012. His relieved wife called the outcome "amazing."

Additional source attribution: Clare Trapasso, Rocco Parascandola, Annie Karni and Natalie Musumeci