The Montana Highway Patrol closed I-15 near Craig late Saturday morning in order to convert the Interstate into a temporary runway.

Last night, Clancy pilot Bill Burkland landed his Cessna Skyhawk 2 on the highway after running out of gas. Burkland said his plane's fuel gauges were not working properly.

So although he thought he had enough fuel to get from Shelby to Helena, he didn't.

Burkland refueled the plane last night and with the help of crews took off again this morning.

MHP Trooper Joe Cohenour explained, "He's gonna taxi up, we're gonna hand pull it over the cattle guard, getting it on the interstate, and then he'll go ahead and power on up to the southbound lane to the crest of the hill, and since our wind is directly out of the south right now it will aid him in taking off."

Lewis & Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton said pilots are trained for situations like this and says Burkland handled the situation perfectly.

Burkland landed in Helena shortly after take-off.

- Marnee Banks reporting for KRTV/KXLH

(November 6, 2009) The Montana Highway Patrol reported that a small plane made an emergency landing on I-15 near Craig shortly after 5:00 p.m. on Friday.

The plane, a Cessna Skyhawk 2, landed safely and the sole occupant, the pilot, was uninjured.

The plane was forced to make the landing because of unspecified mechanical problems; it reportedly still had about 1/4 tank of fuel at the time of the landing.

One lane of I-15 southbound was shut down temporarily near the Dearborn exit.

One MHP observer on the scene remarked that tragedy was averted due to excellent training and quick thinking by the pilot.

The plane was towed off of the highway and will be evaluated by a mechanic on Saturday.