A distressed plane had to make an emergency landing at Habersham County Airport in Baldwin on Thursday evening.
County fire and medical personnel, as well as units from Cornelia and Baldwin, responded to a report of an impending emergency landing shortly before 9 p.m. on August 22.
“When we first received the call, we weren’t sure how big the plane would be and what we were facing, so we sent all of our resources on the way,” said Dwight McNally, Habersham County Emergency Services Battalion Chief.
According to the flight tracking service FlightAware, the single-engine plane took off from Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia to Cobb County International Airport at around 6:20 p.m. After two and a half hours of flight, the cockpit filled with smoke, which made an emergency landing necessary.
“Fortunately, the men in the plane were able to land safely and the plane did not catch fire. They only had a minor mechanical problem,” says McNally.
Federal Aviation Administration records show that Three Hands Farms LLC of Aldie, Virginia, owns the single-engine, fixed-wing four-seater.
Chief McNally praised the local emergency response, saying there was good participation from all departments and “everything went smoothly.”
“We were very lucky that it was only a small mechanical defect and everyone was fine,” he adds.
The plane remained on the ground at the airport and the three men continued their journey to Atlanta by car.
