Small plane makes an emergency landing on a busy Georgia road and strikes 3 vehicles

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A single-engine plane made an emergency landing on a busy road in Georgia, striking three vehicles and leaving two people with minor injuries, authorities said, after one of the two pilots on board told air traffic controllers to let his wife and parents know he loved them.

The Hawker Beechcraft Bonanza landed Monday on Browns Bridge Road in Gainesville, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta. It was headed to Cherokee County Regional Airport in Canton from Gainesville’s Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport. The plane turned back after experiencing problems with the engine just after departure, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

The plane didn’t have enough power to make it to the airport. It landed on the road, the NTSB said.

“I think we're not going to make it,” air traffic audio recorded by LiveATC.net said. “Please tell my wife, Molly, I love her, and my parents. I love them so much.”

More than 10 minutes later, “We're going to be fine” is heard on the recording.

“We lost our engine taking off out of Gainesville,” pilot Thomas Rogers told WAGA-TV. “We tried to glide back, did everything by the book, but realized we weren’t going to make it back with how far out we were, so we came down on the road.”

The plane struck three cars, dislodging a fuel tank into one of them, Gainesville police Capt. Kevin Holbrook said. Two people were taken to a hospital with minor injuries, he said.

“The fact that they were able to land in the middle of hundreds of vehicles and only hit three of them, no power lines is very remarkable,” Holbrook said, noting that the road is one of the main arteries through northeast Georgia. “The fact that no one was seriously injured or killed is just astonishing.”

This image provided by Gainesville Police Department shows a small plane that made an emergency landing on a street in Gainesville, Ga., Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (Gainesville, Ga., Police Department via AP)

This image provided by Gainesville Police Department shows a small plane that made an emergency landing on a street in Gainesville, Ga., Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (Gainesville, Ga., Police Department via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Governors Association will no longer hold a formal meeting with President Donald Trump when the group of state leaders meet in Washington later this month after the White House planned to invite only Republicans.

“NGA staff was informed that the White House intends to limit invitations to the annual business meeting, scheduled for February 20, to Republican governors only,” Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican who is the chairman of the NGA, said in a Monday letter to fellow governors obtained by The Associated Press. “Because NGA’s mission is to represent all 55 governors, the Association is no longer serving as the facilitator for that event, and it is no longer included in our official program.”

The NGA is scheduled to meet in Washington from Feb. 19-21. Representatives for Stitt, the White House and the NGA didn't immediately comment on the letter.

The governors group is one of the few remaining venues where political leaders from both major parties gather to discuss the top issues facing their communities.

But signs of partisan tensions emerged at the White House meeting last year, when Trump and Maine's then-Gov. Janet Mills traded barbs.

Trump singled out the Democratic governor over his push to bar transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports, threatening to withhold federal funding from the state if she did not comply. Mills responded, “We’ll see you in court.”

Trump then predicted that Mills’ political career would be over for opposing the order. She is now running for U.S. Senate.

The back and forth had a lasting impact on last year’s conference and some Democratic governors did not renew their dues last year to the bipartisan group.

President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One, early Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md., after returning from a trip to Florida. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)