A student pilot trying to land a small plane near Fort Worth, TX, died Wednesday morning after apparently losing control of the plane and crashing into a tractor-trailer. The truckdriver called the incident the most surprising thing that's happened to him in more than a decade of trucking.

During the first landing attempt at the airport the plane bounced on the runway three times, according to published reports. The pilot was making a second attempt when the crash occurred. Tail winds apparently whipped the single-engine plane into the eastbound lanes of Interstate 20 about 30 miles west of Fort Worth.

The 1980 fixed-wing Cessna 152 left the runway and dropped onto a frontage road, skipping onto the highway, where it struck the flatbed of an eastbound truck. The trucker was not injured. The pilot was thrown from the plane on impact.

Truckdriver Alvaro Reyes told news reporters he was approaching the airport's takeoff path when he noticed the plane coming down the runway. Moments later, as he passed the airport, he saw the plan coming at his rig at a distinct down angle.

Reyes' truck, hauling crushed rock powder used in construction, was in the middle of three lanes and he veered to the left lane. The plane hit the right front corner of his load and dropped to the ground. The highway's eastbound lanes were closed for more than five hours following the accident.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. The pilot had been taking lessons for about six months, according to published reports.