Federal investigators concluded that a twin-engine Beechcraft airplane which struck a car before landing along a darkened strip of highway on I-95 in Cocoa in December 2025 had run low on fuel in mid-flight.
Dashcam video of the unusual emergency landing on the interstate, just south of State Road 520 near Cocoa, went viral and captured international attention.
Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board — an independent fact-finding agency — said the 27-year-old pilot, with 291 hours of flight time, and his flight instructor were flying the multi-engine airplane Dec. 8 in preparation for the pilot’s aviation test the following day.
The unnamed pilot wrote in his report to the NTSB that the flight was conducted at the aircraft owner’s request for his stepson, who was scheduled to take a practical test with a designated pilot examiner on Dec. 9. The owner, an experienced airline transport pilot and certified flight instructor, said the student had the required logbook endorsements. Given that context, the pilot said, he agreed to conduct the flight as a mock evaluation.
No one was seriously injured, but the hard landing left several motorists stunned. Some got out of their vehicles and ran to the site to assist the 57-year-old Melbourne driver whose Toyota Camry was struck by the plane.
The pilots told investigators that they thought the airplane – a Beech 95-C55 manufactured in 1966 and registered to Tailwinds Flying, LLC out of Orlando – was loaded with 65 gallons of fuel based on the cockpit fuel gauges. The plane lifted off about 4:30 p.m. from Merritt Island Airport.
After nearly 75 minutes of flying, the two men began to return to the airport when the airplane began to lose altitude, officials said.
The plane was about 1,300 to 1,400 feet in the air and nearly two and half miles from the airport when it began to lose engine power, reports show.
The 27-year-old flight instructor, who had 1,256 hours of flight time, took control of the Beechcraft, attempting to restore engine power, and declared an emergency, investigators said. The flight instructor then glided the plane toward Interstate 95, slamming into a Toyota Camry before coming to a stop in the center lanes of the Interstate during the rush hour.
Commuters called 911 for several minutes as dispatchers alerted police and firefighters to the southbound lanes of the interstate. On the ground, drivers stopped ran to the Camry to pull the woman from her vehicle, just a few feet from where the plane landed in the southbound lanes of the highway. No major injuries were reported.
The case will be reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration.
J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641or jgallop@floridatoday.com. X: @JDGallop.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Plane which crash-landed on I-95 near Cocoa was low on fuel, NTSB says
Reporting by J.D. Gallop, Florida Today / Florida Today
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By J.D. Gallop, Florida Today | USA TODAY Network
