VERO BEACH — A small plane made an emergency landing at the airport Saturday afternoon after its engine caught fire, police said.
The incident comes one day after a small plane crashed into a grassy area behind the county jail. It also comes a few days before a full-scale disaster exercise training that will be held at the Vero Beach Regional Airport.
“This is additional training for us. We’re just happy nobody was hurt and that there was no damage to the airport,” Eric Menger, airport director, said Saturday. “We’re happy with the quick response time of the emergency responders.”
The more recent incident occurred about noon Saturday at the airport, located at 3400 Cherokee Drive, Vero Beach Police spokesman Officer Brad Kmetz said. The pilot was conducting a test run on the Piper Malibu aircraft when the engine ignited, Menger said.
The pilot – who was the only person aboard – was not injured.
*Click the audio icon in the lower right hand corner for sound.
A Piper Malibu plane made an emergency landing about noon Saturday after its engine caught fire, officials said. The incident happened at the Vero Beach Regional Airport, 3400 Cherokee Drive. The pilot, who was not injured, was conducting a test run on the plane. Indian River County Fire Rescue crews and the FAA will investigate the cause of the incident.
Posted by Nick Samuel on Saturday, February 9, 2019
Indian River County Fire Rescue crews extinguished the blaze by 1:30 p.m., officials said. Fire rescue and the Federal Aviation Administration will be investigating the incident.
Further details on the landing were not immediately available.
