Small plane makes emergency landing on Highway 22 in Horry County

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A small plane had to make an emergency landing Sunday night on Highway 22 between Highway 905 and Highway 90, according to Horry County Fire Rescue.

Officials said it happened about 5:30 p.m. and the Myrtle Beach-bound lanes of traffic were blocked.

The aircraft was damaged, but no injuries were reported, HCFR said.

The Federal Aviation Administration told News13 four people were on board the single-engine Cessna 182. The FAA’s preliminary findings show the plane experienced “engine issues.”

There was perfect visibility and only light wind Sunday evening, according to News13’s meteorologists.

The FAA registry shows the plane is registered to Stanley Aero Club Inc. out of Belmont, North Carolina.

Veronica Waked said she witnessed the plane make its emergency landing.

“So, we have a panoramic sunroof in our car and we opened it, the screen, the shade so that we could see it go directly over us and then just land in front of us,” Waked said.

According to flight tracking data from FlightAware, the plane took off from Gastonia Municipal Airport in North Carolina at 4:09 p.m.

Waked said she was scared when she first saw it, but that it could have been a lot worse.

“I was scared, but it looked like it was in control,” Waked said. “The pilot seemed like he knew what he was doing. But it could have been worse.”

The Horry County Police Department and the South Carolina Department of Public Safety are assisting.

HCFR said the plane was towed away before 8:00 p.m. and the road has reopened.