Plane lands on Interstate 35 near Duluth

DULUTH — A small plane landed on Interstate 35 about 35 miles southwest of Duluth on Friday afternoon, according to the State Patrol.

The agency reported that the small, single-engine aircraft made an emergency landing at 1 p.m. in the northbound lanes between Barnum and Mahtowa, coming to rest in the roadside ditch after landing safely.

No one was injured, and there was little damage to the plane, the State Patrol said.

Authorities are determining how to move it, said Stephanie Christensen, a Minnesota Department of Transportation spokeswoman.

Minneapolis resident Dominic Papatola was headed to Duluth for Grandma's Marathon along with thousands of others Friday afternoon when he and his wife noticed flashing lights just north of Barnum. The couple were stopped for about 10 minutes, and saw a type of tow truck used for big rigs, he said.

"It looked like they were going to try to winch it back up onto the road," Papatola said.

Why the plane made an emergency landing still isn't clear. A spokesman for the State Patrol said the Federal Aviation Administration is leading the investigation.