The pilot, flying with a traffic reporter for Metro Networks, which was providing traffic reports for Philadelphia's KYW-AM and KYW-TV, put the plane down on the northbound lanes of the turnpike in Cherry Hill about two miles south of Exit 4.
"This was pretty much a non-incident in terms of what the outcome was like," said New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesman Joseph Orlando. "The plane landed, he taxied it over into the shoulder. We can't even get motorists to do that when they break down."
Authorities have not identified the pilot or passenger, but have said that neither was injured.
There was a traffic backup of about a mile and a half in each direction. Orlando said that was due mostly to rubbernecking.
"For the first time in 8 years, I can probably say you had a good reason to stop and look," Orlando said.
The plane, a Cessna 152 built in 1981, was loaded onto a truck and taken to a New Jersey Turnpike Authority maintenance yard near Exit 5.
The Federal Aviation Administration was starting an investigation.
