Plane landing on Lakeview neutral ground was surreal, witnesses say

SmashMouth · 04-16-2011, 04:14 PM

Ryan Rhoto was driving through Lakeview this afternoon with his friend, Brandi Charbonnet, when they saw a plane flying unusually low.

"I didn't know if it was real or not,'' Rhoto said. "We thought it was a glider plane. When it started coming in real low, I realized it was a real plane. I slammed on the brakes. It came right in front of us, stopped on the grass, took out that tree and flipped.''
A single-engine 1960 Piper, named "Nuttin Nice,'' apparently lost power and coasted to a landing onto the neutral ground, clipping a mini-van that was passing on West End Boulevard. The pilot, Houston Hunter, apparently suffered a minor injury to his hand, while no one in the van was injured.
The incident brought the bustling Lakeview intersection at West End Boulevard and Harrison Avenue to a stop.
The National Transportation Safety Board was contacted and is expected to handle the investigation, officials said.
An observer standing near Hunter congratulated him for avoiding power lines.

Plane landing on Lakeview neutral ground was surreal, witnesses say | NOLA.com

Crashing the party I see!

foreverfan · 04-16-2011, 06:02 PM

SkyMike maybe can relate to this...

back in the 90s New Orleans' own "SkyTony" Bonagura was doing his traffic report when his engine on his plane experienced problems during his morning traffic report. Tony reported "on air" that he had engine probems with his engine but oddly continued giving the traffic report. The announcer doing the moring show (Bob Delgiorno) told him never mind the traffic just land the plane safely. Tony landed the plane without incident on the levee in Jefferson parish.

I was actually driving to work and was listening when this happened.

Halo · 04-17-2011, 01:26 AM

I actually saw this happen yesterday. While on my way to the lakefront, plane landed, braked on West End and went onto the canal/median area.

I saw it after it crossed Harrison. It hit a mini-van.

Honestly, the pilot was doing his best to save lives, including people in the neighborhood.

HouYat · 04-19-2011, 12:15 PM

That's my old neighborhood! At least there was plenty of ground for him to land on. Too bad part of that space happened to be Harrison Ave.

04-16-2011, 04:14 PM	#1
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 36,958 Blog Entries: 29	Plane landing on Lakeview neutral ground was surreal, witnesses say Ryan Rhoto was driving through Lakeview this afternoon with his friend, Brandi Charbonnet, when they saw a plane flying unusually low. "I didn't know if it was real or not,'' Rhoto said. "We thought it was a glider plane. When it started coming in real low, I realized it was a real plane. I slammed on the brakes. It came right in front of us, stopped on the grass, took out that tree and flipped.'' A single-engine 1960 Piper, named "Nuttin Nice,'' apparently lost power and coasted to a landing onto the neutral ground, clipping a mini-van that was passing on West End Boulevard. The pilot, Houston Hunter, apparently suffered a minor injury to his hand, while no one in the van was injured. The incident brought the bustling Lakeview intersection at West End Boulevard and Harrison Avenue to a stop. The National Transportation Safety Board was contacted and is expected to handle the investigation, officials said. An observer standing near Hunter congratulated him for avoiding power lines. Plane landing on Lakeview neutral ground was surreal, witnesses say \| NOLA.com Crashing the party I see!

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04-16-2011, 06:02 PM	#2
foreverfan 12,000 BS Posts Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Metairie, LA Posts: 13,457 Blog Entries: 5	SkyMike maybe can relate to this... back in the 90s New Orleans' own "SkyTony" Bonagura was doing his traffic report when his engine on his plane experienced problems during his morning traffic report. Tony reported "on air" that he had engine probems with his engine but oddly continued giving the traffic report. The announcer doing the moring show (Bob Delgiorno) told him never mind the traffic just land the plane safely. Tony landed the plane without incident on the levee in Jefferson parish. I was actually driving to work and was listening when this happened.

04-17-2011, 01:26 AM	#3
Halo Site Donor MONTHLY Join Date: May 2002 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 20,205 Blog Entries: 45	I actually saw this happen yesterday. While on my way to the lakefront, plane landed, braked on West End and went onto the canal/median area. I saw it after it crossed Harrison. It hit a mini-van. Honestly, the pilot was doing his best to save lives, including people in the neighborhood.

04-19-2011, 12:15 PM	#4
HouYat Site Donor 2014 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Humble, Texas Posts: 460	That's my old neighborhood! At least there was plenty of ground for him to land on. Too bad part of that space happened to be Harrison Ave.