Hardly a day goes by that we dont hear about some kind of off-airport landing, but the images accompanying one pilots bad day in Florida have captured the imagination of even non-pilots. Pilot Robert W. Robertson, 34, was just about the only thing left intact after the Beech Super 18 he was flying lost power Friday, and came down hard on a freeway in Fort Lauderdale. After the crash, Robertson remained strapped in his seat with the shredded aircraft around him until rescuers could cut him free.
He was taken to hospital with multiple injuries and his condition is improving. Robertson took off from Ft. Lauderdale Executive Airport headed for Nassau with a load of store merchandise when he ran into trouble. Unidentified colleagues at Monarch Air, where Robertson worked, speculated that Robertson was trying to avoid hitting buildings and other public buildings with a steep turn executed just before the landing on the freeway.
