Plane makes forced landing, catches fire on N.C. interstate, officials say

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A plane making a forced landing on Interstate 26 in North Carolina Thursday night caught fire and snarled traffic for hours.

Several News 13 viewers have called the newsroom, reporting a crash. And video showed the aircraft on fire.

Asheville fire officials confirmed the forced landing.

According to the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office, multiple people were taken to the hospital.

An airport spokesperson said the aircraft reported problems and said it needed assistance. It then landed on the interstate between Long Shoals and Airport roads. It's unclear when the fire started.

The airport deployed a fire truck for mutual aid, airport officials said. Skyland Fire and Rescue, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Asheville Police Department and Buncombe County Sheriff's Office were on scene.

As of 7 a.m., NCDOT officials estimate the road will reopen about 8:30 a.m. Friday.

Detour:

• I-26 West: Motorists must take Exit 40 (Airport Rd). Turn right onto Airport Rd and follow to US 25 North. Follow US 25 North to I-40 West. Continue on I-40 West to Exit 47 (NC 191). Follow NC 191 North to re-access I-26 West.
• I-26 East: Motorists must take Exit 37 (NC 146). Follow NC 146 East to US 25 South. Continue on US 25 South to re-access I-26 East.

On Thursday night, dozens of motorists had passed the detour exit and were stuck in traffic for hours.

Officials said IMAP and NCDOT crews have started turning around vehicles at the back of the queue to get them off the interstate.

Several places, including the WLOS newsroom, have experienced power surges and outages.

According to the Duke Energy Power Outage Map, about 3,300 customers in that area are without electricity. The website does not give a reason for the outages. But the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office said the plane hit power lines. By 11 p.m., power had been restored to those customers.