Source: The Miami Herald
As emergency landings go, this one was a breeze.
The engine conked out on J.L. Thomas' single-engine Cessna plane Thursday morning as he was approaching Palm Beach International Airport. But it wasn't long before he found a nice stretch of green to glide onto: the Emerald Dunes Golf Club.
Scared but cool, he says he touched down on the driving range about 10:30 a.m. with barely a bump. The fairway, in suburban West Palm Beach just west of Florida's Turnpike, looked familiar as he landed.
Thomas, a 56-year-old Kissimmee resident who travels frequently to Palm Beach County to supervise his business construction work, had played at the same golf course last week.
''This just looked like the safest place to land,'' he said, standing on the edge of the course a few minutes later.
On the cool Veterans Day morning, the plane's sudden arrival didn't create much of a stir at the public course. A handful of golfers at the driving range glanced briefly at the plane as it landed.
''They just went right back to hitting balls and they were fine,'' Thomas said. ''They must have thought I did it on purpose.''
The cause of the engine problem in the plane, which Thomas said was on loan from his mechanic, wasn't known.
Thomas stood around after the landing, talkng with people from Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue, waiting for clearance from federal officials to remove the plane.
Even then, golfers appeared to find the plane more of a nuisance than a spectacle.
''What hole are you on?" one golfer asked Thomas.
''It's on the driving range," he said.
"Oh good. I was going to apologize for breaking your window ahead of time.''"
