The darkness around Pasadena's Fire Station 10 was illuminated by emergency lights and the talk inside about a pilot who somehow managed to avoid disaster.
"He obviously knew what he was doing," Pasadena Fire Department Chief Lanny Amstrong said.
Amstrong says the male pilot was flying from Lake Jackson to Conroe in a small plane, when in the skies over Pasadena, he started having trouble. Firefighters say he circled the fire station once and just 500 yards behind it, not too far away from homes and in the middle of an Exxon pipeline, found an open field for an emergency landing.
"He's very fortunate that he didn't catch any well heads, or power lines or trees or anything else. I mean it's pretty amazing what he did," Amstrong said.
The pilot was flying a single-engine prop plane. The pilot, who wasn't injured in the incident, told firefighters he had complete engine failure.
We're told he'll return back to the scene on Saturday morning to figure out how to move the plane.
Ellington's Air Force Fire Department also responded to the scene because they respond to incidents within five-mile radius, plus he was in contact with its tower.
