Pilot belly-lands seaplane on busy Phoenix street, all survive with minor injuries

A Republic RC-3 Seabee with a smoking cockpit and a failing engine came down on 7th Street in central Phoenix after pilot Mike Tragarz had only seconds to choose a landing spot that would spare everyone on board and people on the ground. Tragarz said the emergency lasted about 45 seconds, and by the time he turned back toward Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, the only clear path ahead looked like a runway.

The seaplane belly-landed near 7th Street and Missouri Avenue, in a stretch of Midtown Phoenix known for traffic, pedestrians, bikers, restaurants and apartment buildings. Phoenix Fire Department officials later called the landing a miracle. The aircraft avoided power lines and a traffic sign, hit a water main and fire hydrant, and stopped without striking any cars, people or buildings.

Three people were aboard the aircraft when it developed engine trouble shortly after takeoff from Hangar Haciendas Airport in Laveen. Tragarz said the cockpit filled with smoke and the engine began making strange noises, giving him too little time to declare a mayday. He said decades of airline-pilot training and muscle memory helped him guide the 1940s-era seaplane down safely.

All three occupants suffered only minor injuries, were evaluated at the scene and refused hospital transport. No one on the ground was hurt. Witnesses rushed toward the plane after it settled in the roadway and said it appeared to come down almost perfectly.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the landing, with the NTSB expected to release a preliminary report within 30 days. Investigators will likely focus on the engine failure, the sequence of decisions Tragarz made in the final seconds, and how the Seabee’s design and flight characteristics helped keep the situation from becoming far worse.

The incident underscored how quickly a routine flight can turn into an emergency in one of Phoenix’s busiest corridors. In this case, a fast response in the cockpit, a controlled belly-landing on a straight stretch of pavement and immediate attention from first responders kept a broken airplane from becoming a mass-casualty scene.