The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is investigating the emergency landing of a private light aircraft in Pretoria on Tuesday morning. 

The pilot escaped unharmed after he was forced to land on the N1 highway near Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria. 

According to CAA spokesperson Kabelo Ledwaba, the Piper 46 Malibu (turboprop engine) had departed from the Wonderboom Airport and was scheduled to land at the Pietersburg Civil Airport in Polokwane, Limpopo.

However, soon after departure at 07:49, the aircraft had to make an emergency landing.

Ledwaba said the circumstances leading up to the landing were being investigated.

No injuries were reported and the pilot was the only passenger on board.

In January, News24 reported that a couple escaped uninjured after their light aircraft made an emergency landing at a beach in Jeffreys Bay, Eastern Cape. 

The National Sea Rescue Institute said at the time that the Plettenberg Bay pilot and his wife had been found safe on the beach.