ARDEN HILLS, Minn. – The flying skills of a pilot who crash-landed on Interstate 35-W Wednesday night have been praised by witnesses. Video from a stationary traffic monitoring camera show the plane, piloted by Craig Gifford, 52, of Minneapolis, dropping powerless on a northbound lane, passing low over two vehicles, also northbound, before hitting pavement and skidding into a third vehicle. There was no fire. There were no injuries. The stall speed of the plane, a Bellanca Viking, is listed by the manufacturer at 76 mph.
Gliding in. The Bellanca Viking lost power after take-off from the Anoka County-Blaine Airport two miles away.