Student Pilot Runs Out of Fuel, Lands on Highway

And is then charged with DWI in Missouri
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 17, 2022 9:59 AM CDT
Pilot Lands on Highway, Is Promptly Charged With DWI
Stock image of a Piper Cherokee plane.   (Getty/Oleg_O)

That somebody hit a guardrail on Interstate 70 in Missouri and then was charged with DWI wouldn't typically make national headlines. But in this case, the circumstances are a little unusual—it wasn't a car involved but a small plane, reports NBC News. The state Highway Patrol says 35-year-old John T. Seesing—a student pilot—ran out of fuel and set down his Piper Cherokee on the highway about 2:45am Friday roughly 20 miles east of Kansas City. Seesing managed to avoid hitting any cars and escaped with what were described as minor injuries, per KMBC.

But there was bad news for him after the successful emergency landing. "The pilot was found to be intoxicated & arrested," says a tweet from the Highway Patrol. Seesing actually faces a slew of charges in addition to the DWI: felony possession of a controlled substance, felony unlawful possession of a firearm, possession of less than 10 grams of marijuana, and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. The FAA will investigate the incident as well. (More pilots stories.)

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