Small plane hauling Lady Antebellum banner lands on interstate in downtown Nashville

Show Caption Hide Caption Small plane lands on I-40/I-65 split near downtown Nashville A small plane landed near the I-40, I-65 split near downtown Nashville on Saturday, June 10, 2017.

Wayne Mansfield was circling downtown Nashville in a small, fixed-wing airplane on Saturday afternoon when he felt the engine sputter.

The plane — which was hauling a banner encouraging " Meet Lady Antebellum text CMA to 31996" — suffered an engine failure, he said.

Mansfield began looking for his best landing option. He found it where Interstate 65 meets the Interstate 40 downtown loop, near Jefferson Street.

Mansfield, who lives near Boston, said he dropped the banner and steered the aircraft over an embankment and between two poles before he came to a stop in a grassy median where the interstates meet.

"I was still going around in circles downtown. I wasn’t trying to come here that’s for sure," he said later, standing beside his aircraft, cars buzzing by.

" I didn’t have a lot of choices," he said. "I maneuvered the airplane, picked my spot and landed in it."

Plane lands on Interstate near downtown Nashville. A plane landed on the I-40, I-65 split near downtown Nashville on Saturday, June 10, 2017.

The emergency landing happened about 2:15 p.m.

"So unbelievably glad everyone is ok!" Nashville-based band Lady Antebellum tweeted Saturday. The seven-time Grammy winners play at Nissan Stadium on Saturday night as part of CMA Fest.

"When we saw that and we found out everyone was okay, we prayed and are just so grateful," said singer Hillary Scott. Before their set at Nissan Stadium on Saturday, the band said they invited Mansfield to come backstage and commended him for his quick thinking.

CMA Fest 2017: Lady Antebellum discusses emergency plane landing Lady Antebellum discusses a pilot who made an emergency landing on the I-40. The plane was flying a Lady Antebellum banner over Nashville during CMA Fest.

The fixed-wing, single-engine airplane was manufactured in 1987, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. Mansfield said a repair crew would be routed to remove the plane and make repairs.

He reported no injuries, and no hard feelings about Nashville even despite the aviation mishap.

"I was here last year flying around, it was wonderful," he said. "That’s why I wanted to come back. Nashville is wonderful city, it’s full of wonderful people, welcoming people."

So unbelievably glad everyone is ok! https://t.co/cWGIrNN2IM — Lady Antebellum (@ladyantebellum) June 10, 2017

Reporter Jason Gonzales contributed to this report. Reach Stacey Barchenger at 615-726-8968, sbarchenger@tennessean.com or on Twitter @sbarchenger. Reach Emily West at erwest@tennessean.com; at 615-613-1380; or on Twitter at @emwest22.