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A pilot from Florida survived a crash-landing Thursday night in which his plane was snagged in trees along Highway 186 in the Seaboard area.

Northampton County Emergency Management Director Tony Burnette said the pilot, whose name was not being released pending a Federal Aviation Administration investigation, was coming from Florida and planned to land in Emporia.

Shortly after 8:15 p.m. the engine of the single-engine aircraft began cutting out about 8 nautical miles from Emporia.

The pilot glided the plane for about 5 miles and his instruments showed a road below him, which was Highway 186.

Burnette said it was not immediately clear whether the pilot intended to land on the highway.

He radioed he was going down and the FAA contacted another plane in the area which circled around the area.

The pilot crashed into trees off Highway 186 and the plane came to rest in the trees.

All gallery photos courtesy of Northampton County Emergency Management

Rescue teams spotted the plane in the trees and communicated with the pilot, who said he was cold.

The Weldon Fire Department was dispatched to the scene with its ladder truck, which was used to rescue the pilot through the window of his aircraft.

Clements Mechanical was called to get the plane out of the tree and the Northampton County Sheriff’s Office took the pilot to a hotel.

Burnette said the effort to get the pilot and plane out safely was an all-hands job. “I would like to thank all of our first responders for performing an outstanding job in helping to save somebody’s life.”

Agencies responding included the Weldon, Seaboard, Gaston, and Roanoke-Wildwood fire departments, Northampton County EMS, the Northampton County Sheriff's Office, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, North Carolina Emergency Management, and Northampton County Communications.

Burnette said the FAA stayed on the phone with him.

Special thanks, Burnette said, were in order for Clements Mechanical “for removing the plane safely from the tree to the ground and transporting it out. They did an excellent job.”

First responders were on the scene until shortly before 1:30 this morning and the portion of Highway 186 in the vicinity of the crash was shut down during the rescue efforts.

“Our first responders train for stuff like this,” Burnette said. “We train together and that training paid off. He (the pilot) was the luckiest man in Northampton County. He went down in complete darkness. God was with him.”