https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/polkcounty/bartow-small-plane-emergency-highway17-polk-county/67-fd0d26e1-3c1f-4edb-b260-f88a799f2f07Polk County officials said 45-year-old Robert Mosier of Winter Haven was flying the plane to the Bartow Airbase from Fort Myers when the engine began to lose power. BARTOW, Fla. — A small plane made an emergency landing off of U.S. Highway 17 in Bartow on Wednesday morning.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said 45-year-old Robert Mosier of Winter Haven was flying a small replica warplane to the Bartow Airbase from Fort Myers when the engine began to lose power.
Mosier reportedly saw that there was enough room on the highway with little to no traffic and made the emergency landing around 11:00 a.m. on Hwy 17 near Homeland Garfield Road. Officials say he then maneuvered the lane into the grass median so that traffic would not be impacted. Officials say Mosier, who is a commercial pilot and also works part-time moving small planes from one place to another, was hired to bring the plane to Bartow for an inspection before being sold.
The sheriff's office said Mosier was the only one on board. No injuries were reported.