Pilot Talks About Turnpike Landing

Frank Vogt was on a routine traffic patrol when he had to make a quick decision to put his two-person plane on the New Jersey Turnpike on Monday.

Slideshow: Plane Lands On Turnpike

Vogt made national headlines when his plane became part of the usual traffic jam on the busy highway.

“The oil gauge was a little low,” Vogt said. “And that when things started to roll down a little bit.”

Vogh said he realized he had to land and did not have much time.

“We fly at 1,200 feet and didn't have time to go to an airport.”

“To see the fields was difficult.” Vogt said. He then saw the turnpike, which looked like a “runway” to Vogt.

The  Cessna owned by Wilmington, Del.-based Out of the Blue, Inc., also had traffic reporter Mike Lankford on board  for Metro Networks, which was providing traffic reports for a number of TV and radio stations.

Vogt put the plane down on the northbound lanes of the turnpike in Cherry Hill about two miles south of Exit 4.

"This was pretty much a non-incident in terms of what the outcome was like," said New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesman Joseph Orlando. "The plane landed, he taxied it over into the dhoulder. We can't even get motorists to do that when they break down."

"For the first time in 8 years, I can probably say you had a good reason to stop and look," Orlando said.