Plane lands on highway in Nyngan, NSW

An Aussie pilot narrowly avoided tragedy when a joy flight turned into an emergency.

Aussie motorists narrowly avoided disaster when a plane was forced to land on a rural highway over the Australia Day long weekend.

Police in Nyngan, NSW, said a light aircraft declared an emergency just after 11am on Friday.

Aviation authorities contacted police to let them know that a pilot experienced engine failure and would attempt to land on the Mitchell Highway.

A plane landed on a highway in Nyngan, NSW in January 2025. Picture: Facebook

Senior Constable Crosland of Nyngan Police said “we only got one call, which was surprising” considering the road was relatively busy.

“It had to dodge cars, apparently,” he said.

“It went to land one way, but there was a truck and it had to turn around.

“You would have thought we would have had more calls about that!”

Police said the aircraft was towed to a nearby property with an airstrip, where it will be repaired before being flown away.

The pilot and passenger were not injured in the incident.

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A plane landed on a highway in Nyngan, NSW in January 2025. Picture: Supplied

Aviation enthusiasts on Recreational Flying internet forums said the pilot “called in loss of oil pressure and potential fire” in a Cirrus SR22 light aircraft and did well to land without issue.

The Australia Day weekend was a buy one for NSW Police.

Highway Patrol officers said a Tesla driver busted speeding in excess of 200km/h told police he was rushing because “I really have to go to the toilet”.

A P-plate driver caught speeding, using their phone and driving under the influence of Methamphetamines lost 22 demerit points and booked a day in court.

Another driver was stopped for speeding near Dubbo in Western NSW.

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NSW Police on Australia Day.

Police arrested the man after finding “a large amount” of illegal vapes and tobacco in the car.

An investigation of the man’s phone found video of him driving at 172km/h for over a minute on the Newell Highway near Moree.

A Facebook message posted by police stated that “When questioned about the video, the man said, ‘I just thought I’d film it for my friend’.

Originally published as Plane lands on highway in Nyngan, NSW