PORTLAND, Maine - Maine State Police say a small plane made an emergency landing on Interstate 295 south in Bowdoinham just after 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Police say the pilot, John Gayley, of Bowdoin, had facial injuries and was taken to Maine Medical Center. His passenger, Rodney Voisene, also of Bowdoin, sustained a minor arm injury and was taken to a local hospital to be checked.
"The pilot has told troopers that he took off from Bowdoinham and switched gas tanks," says Maine Public Safety Department spokesman Steve McCausland, "and when he did this procedure, the engine stalled and he couldn't get it restarted."
Gayley landed the 1947 Cessna in the southbound lane, against traffic, and the plane then veered into the guardrail along the breakdown lane. One vehicle had to swerve to avoid the plane as it landed.
The FAA has been notified and is due on scene shortly. McCausland says the plane will be removed from the road this afternoon, a process he says could disrupt southbound traffic.
