Pilot John Pedersen was forced to make an emergency landing Sunday on a Chicago expressway after experiencing mechanical problems, as reported by Reuters. Pedersen managed to land the plane without harming anyone, waiting for red light in traffic to accommodate his two-seater aircraft on the highway.

The single-engine plane landed in the northbound lane without any serious incident, with one or two cars bumping lightly into the aircraft's left wing as it touched down on the stretch on Lake Shore Drive. The two cars reportedly sped off after the slight bump, and first responders on the scene managed to move the plane from the expressway onto the grassy area, easing the momentary traffic congestion caused by the emergency landing.

A plane parked on Lake Shore Drive is a rare sight, and motorists, joggers and even police officers took the opportunity to snap photos of the spectacle as Pedersen explained the incident to authorities, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The pilot said he had been soaring over downtown Chicago when he felt the plane shake violently, as the tail of his aircraft broke loose. Pedersen said he issued a distress call to O'Hare International Airport, but he knew that he would never get to Midway or O'Hare safely so that he decided to take Lake Shore Drive as his landing spot.

When the 51-year-old electrician phoned his fiancée, Ileana Alvarez, to fetch him, she thought he was joking. Later, when she finally pulled up at the site, she chided, "And he wants me to get on a plane with him, are you kidding me?," as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Pedersen had been flying his plane for 5 years, and despite the incident, he says he's never going to stop. He told NY Daily News, "My aviation career ends when they put me in a box in the ground."

The Federal Aviation Administration stated that it is investigating the incident. For Pedersen, however, the incident gave him a second shot at life. He said, "It's a blessing," as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

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