MAINZ, Germany -- A pilot passed just feet above cars and trucks before crashing his plane next to a busy stretch of Germany's high-speed autobahn on Wednesday. “The pilot and the commuters surely had a guardian angel,” police spokeswoman Ramona Hoerst told NBC News after the aircraft flew into an embankment beside the A43 highway.

The 62-year-old pilot was able to escape the wreck on his own but suffered severe injuries. According to police reports, he was preparing to land at Loemuehle airfield when the four-seater Socata TB10 experienced a sudden loss of power. Traffic was backed up for miles as rescue workers used a crane to remove the aircraft from the undergrowth. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

- Andy Eckardt