HOUSTON- The pilot of a twin-engine airplane that crashed in southwest Houston says it may have experienced mechanical problems before going down in a grassy field off Bissonnet and the Southwest Freeway.

The unidentified pilot was the only person on the plane. He walked way with minor injuries.

The accident happened just after 7 a.m. Wednesday.

When firefighters arrived on the scene, the plane was engulfed in flames.

They had to use fire extinguishers to put out the blaze. It was finally out about 30 minutes later.

One witness reported seeing the plane fly sideways over the freeway before it hit the ground.

The manager of a nearby car dealership also witnessed the incident and said he could not believe the pilot walked away from the crash.

“It’s almost surreal. You don’t think about an airplane crashing right behind where you work. He’s fortunate that he’s okay. Just glad that nobody got hurt.  It’s just remarkable that an airplane can land like this in the middle of the city and not hit anything and nobody get injured,” said Jeff Pollard.

The pilot told workers at the dealership that he was looking to put the plane down in the safest place possible.

Commuters told 11 News that smoke could be seen for miles and that was causing traffic to back up.