Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (July 17/02) - A single-engine airplane was forced to make an emergency landing on Highway 3 Sunday afternoon.

A Piper Cherokee two-seater aircraft, en route from Wrigley to Yellowknife, landed on Highway 3 about 21 kilometres from the airport at approximately 2 p.m. The emergency landing was necessary as the aircraft had run out of fuel, said RCMP Sgt. Al McCambridge.

RCMP officers promptly responded to the scene after receiving word from Flight Services that a plane had gone down. McCambridge said the plane landed safely on the road and the pilot diverted into a gravel pit.

Two passengers were on board but no injuries were reported.

The RCMP blocked off the highway for approximately 10 minutes until a fuel truck called in for assistance could get to the scene. Once refuelled the plane took off and safely landed at the Yellowknife airport. It departed Yellowknife for detinations unknown on Monday.

The RCMP say the matter has since been forwarded to the Transport Canada Safety Division in Edmonton.