Plane makes hard landing on Virginia road after taking off from Washington Dulles

LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. (WDVM) – A small passenger plane made an emergency landing on a northern Virginia highway after taking off from nearby Washington Dulles International Airport on Friday afternoon, but no injuries were reported, authorities said.

A Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) camera, located along the Loudoun County Parkway at mile marker 2.8 showed a large amount of police, fire, and EMS.

There were seven people on board the single-engine Cessna 208 Caravan, according to Federal Aviation Administration. The airline confirmed that five were passengers, in addition to two crew members. The FAA will investigate.

A post on X by Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) said it received word around 12:50 p.m. that Southern Airways Express Flight 246, which left from IAD, had landed on a roadway.

The post went on to say that the airport remained open for takeoffs and landings.

In a statement, the airline’s CEO, Stan Miller, said, “We are relieved to report there were no injuries, and all passengers are safe and sound. We are thankful to our pilots, who did exactly what they were trained to do — to put the safety of our passengers first. We are working closely with the authorities to thoroughly investigate the situation.”

Southern Airways Express was founded in 2013 and is based in Palm Beach, Florida. The commuter airline serves 40 U.S. cities stretching from Nantucket Island in Massachuetts to Honolulu, according to its website.

This is a developing story; the Associated Press contributed to this report.