COMMERCE | A small airplane made an emergency landing late Sunday morning on U.S. Highway 441 in Commerce.

None of the single engine Cessna's four passengers were injured, nor was anyone on the ground, officials said.

The plane was occupied by two adults and two children on their way home from a Boys Scouts event, according to Steve Nichols, director of Jackson County Emergency Services. They had been en route from Charleston, S.C.

The pilot, whose identity has not yet been made public, decided to make the emergency landing at about 11 a.m. when the plane was experiencing intermittent engine problems and it appeared it would not make it to the planned destination at Jackson County Airport, Nichols said.

The landing site was near the Georgia Highway 326 exit, about 2 miles south of Interstate 85.

Fortunately, Nichols said, traffic on the usually busy highway was fairly light.

"The plane actually landed between two different vehicles that were heading in the same direction as the plane," Nichols said. "That had to be a pretty scary sight for the people in those cars."

The plane was towed on the four-lane highway to a field off the exit for Georgia Highway 59, where it remained as of Sunday evening.

Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration responded to make a preliminary inspection of the plane, but they and officials from the National Transportation Safety Board will take a closer look on Monday.

Commerce Police Chief John Gaissert called the lack of injuries "incredible."

He said there was a "small window" for the plane to set down because it was approaching power lines that traversed the highway.

He said the pilot, who like his passengers lives in the Gainesville area, was able to make light of the event and put emergency responders at ease.

"When I arrived on the scene I introduced myself to the pilot as John Gaissert, chief of the Commerce Police Department, and I told him, 'I believe that I'm looking at a miracle of God.'"

The pilot told the chief that the plane was traveling at 75 mph in a 55 mph speed zone on the highway after touching down. Gaissert said he responded, "I believe I'll let you go with a warning this time."