The incident happened about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on Interstate 57, about six miles south of Marion.
Kent Cook was flying a private aircraft when engine trouble developed. He guided the single-engine plane onto the I-57 median near milepost 47 in Williamson County, according to the Illinois State Police district based in Du Quoin.
The plane, a 1958 Cessna 175 Skylark, sustained minimal damage. Cook was the only occupant. It was the best possible outcome, he said Thursday.
Cook said he was flying from Union City, Tenn., to Lincoln. He was transporting the plane as part of his business, Kilo Aviation.
The company is based at Marshall County Airport in Lacon. It manages anywhere from four to 12 private planes.
for nasa. a traffic nightmare. rick: we start with politics and what is turning out to be an all-out fight in the sunshine state before the primary. newt gingrich and mitt romney, racing to events all over the state today, stumping for votes. both candidates pulling out all the stops as they make their closing arguments. how many of you remember being proud of an america that could? [ cheers and applause ] you know, under the elite, the people who oppose me, some of the democratic party, some in the republican party, under these elites, we ve become the america that couldn t. people are coming down because they re concerned about america and they recognize what s at stake. they see a president who is turning us into a european-style welfare state. a president who takes his inspiration from the capitals of europe. we take our inspirations from the people of america. rick: carl cameron live in orlando. three days to go. the candidates are campaigning pretty hard this we