Mid-South pilot makes emergency landing on Mississippi interstate

Posted: Dec 4, 2019 / 04:33 AM CST

Updated: Dec 4, 2019 / 04:46 PM CST

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POTTS CAMP, Miss. — A Collierville man walked away relatively unharmed after an emergency landing on a Mississippi interstate overnight.

According to initial reports, the pilot – identified by a source as Doug Woods of Collierville – was flying from Tupelo, Mississippi to Olive Branch when he experienced engine trouble. He was forced to make an emergency landing on Interstate 22 near Potts Camp.

Video from the scene showed the plane was discovered upside down in a ditch on the side of the highway.

Miraculously, the pilot walked to the ambulance on his own despite having several broken ribs, a broken nose and bruises all over his body. He was taken to Collierville Baptist Memorial Hospital for an evaluation and subsequently released.

WREG spoke to Woods after his release. He didn’t want to go on camera at this time, but said about 25 people stopped to help and took care of him until help arrived.

The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to inspect the aircraft on Wednesday to determine what went wrong.