A small rented airplane landed on the Parks Highway near Willow Tuesday following what its pilot described as an engine failure, Alaska State Troopers said.

Chienwen Liu, 39, rented the Cessna 152 in Anchorage and flew with a passenger, Fang Lin, 37, to Talkeetna Tuesday afternoon, troopers said. Liu told troopers that about 10 minutes into their flight back to Anchorage, the plane's engine quit. Liu could not restart the engine and decided to land on the highway, near Mile 94.5, troopers said.

A witness called 911 about 6:40 p.m., and troopers found the plane and its occupants in a highway pullout. Liu and Lin were uninjured, and the plane was not damaged, troopers said.

Inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration drove north from Anchorage on Wednesday to check the plane's engine, according to Clint Johnson, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. Because there were no injuries or damage reported, the NTSB does not plan to investigate the incident, Johnson said.

Johnson said the plane had been rented from Take Flight Alaska, an Anchorage-based air tour, charter and flight instruction service.

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn.com or 257-4589.