Small plane makes emergency landing on highway, then is hit by vehicle

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — A small plane that made an emergency landing on a highway near a North Carolina airport was struck by a vehicle, injuring one of the plane’s occupants, authorities said.

The single-engine plane suffered a mechanical failure and issued a distress call around 8 p.m. Wednesday at Piedmont Triad International Airport, Greensboro police said in a news release.

The plane landed on Interstate 840 westbound at the junction of Interstate 73 and after stopping, a passenger vehicle struck it, police said. One of the two people in the plane was taken to hospital with minor injuries, police said. The driver of the passenger vehicle was not injured.

Greensboro police will investigate the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the cause of the plane’s malfunction.