Biplane makes emergency landing on Highway 218 in Johnson County

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – A small biplane made an emergency landing on Highway 218 in Johnson County over the weekend.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said the plane ran out of fuel and had to make an emergency landing on southbound Highway 218 at milepost 94 around 5:45 p.m. Saturday.

The aircraft landed safely on the highway and the pilot guided it to the drainage ditch.

John Ockenfels of Swisher was the pilot and the only person on the plane. He was not injured and the plane was not damaged in the incident.

The sheriff’s office said Ockenfels departed from Iowa City Municipal Airport. He later returned there after landing safely on the highway.

First responders helped Ockenfels refuel the plane so it could take off again.

The sheriff’s office said the highway was closed for about a minute while the aircraft took off to return to the airport.

The FAA was notified of the incident.

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