WLFI is reporting that a homemade plane made an emergency landing around noon Thursday on McCarty Lane in Lafayette, No one was injured, including the pilot, David Tibbo.
Tibbo said he didn’t have enough momentum to return to the Purdue University airport, where he took off from sometime Thursday morning, or to clear the populated areas of Lafayette to land in a field.
Tibbo said he attempted a landing on Sagamore Parkway, but decided too many drivers were on the busy street. He turned the aircraft toward McCarty Lane, dodging power lines and automobiles before coming to a stop in from of the Lafayette 7 movie theater.
Tibbo added the homemade, kit aircraft had lost electrical power, causing the battery to stop charging. The fuel pump then failed and caused the engine to lose power. Lafayette Police Department was first called to the scene at 12:15 p.m. The scene was cleared by 12:55 p.m.