Plane crashes bursts flames after hitting truck on busy California highway pilot passenger unharmed
>
Plane crashes and bursts into flames after hitting pickup truck on busy California highway after ‘possible engine failure’ – as pilot and passenger are seen escaping fiery wreck somehow unharmed
- A small plane crashed onto a busy Los Angeles freeway on Tuesday afternoon
- Incredibly both the pilot and his passenger were to escape upon landing
- The plane’s wing hit a pickup truck and it led to fuel being ignited right across the eastbound lanes of the 91 Freeway
- Federal Aviation Administration is investigating what caused the crash
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
The pilot and passenger of a small single-engine plane managed to walk away without a scratch after crash-landing on a California freeway on Tuesday afternoon.
Andrew Cho who was piloting the Piper Cherokee lost engine power and so decided to use the 91 Freeway near Corona in Riverside County, east of LA, as a runway.
Dashcam footage captured the dramatic moment the aircraft managed to come down in between cars at about 12:30pm in the eastbound lanes.
The landing was almost flawless until one of the wings clipped a passing pickup truck, ripping one of its wings and spinning the plane around spreading flammable fuel across the surface of the road.
A small plane could be seen coming in for a crash landing on a busy California freeway
The plane clipped a pickup truck sending it onto its side as it careered across the lanes
The burned remains of a small airplane that crashed on the 91 Freeway, west of the 15 Freeway in Corona are photographed on Tuesday
Although the aircraft caught fire, no injuries were reported with the pilot and his passenger escaping unscathed
Smoke could be seen billowing from the fuel which leaked all over the roadway. The aircraft came to rest at the side of the road
‘It felt like a hard bump. Hard to describe,’ pilot Andrew Cho told KTLA. ‘We were four to five feet in the air when the plane stalled completely and fell to the ground.’
The plane burst into flames as it careered across the lanes of the freeway before coming to rest on the shoulder.
Seconds later, passing drivers captured the moment Cho and his business partner passenger escaped from the burning wreck with their lives as thick black smoke billowed into the air.
‘It felt like a hard bump. Hard to describe,’ Cho told KTLA. ‘We were four to five feet in the air when the plane stalled completely and fell to the ground.’
Cho said it was all down to training that he was able to make the crash landing successfully.
‘Your training kicks in and you do the right thing. As long as you don’t panic, you get the best outcome,’ he explained.
The Corona Fire Department were quickly on scene as the plane lie burning on the shoulder
Fire crews worked to extinguish the flames of this most unusual fire on the 91 Freeway
A firefighter could be seen dousing the flames as the aircraft lay at the side of the road
A California Highway Patrol officer walks past the burned remains of a small airplane that crashed on the 91 Freeway
‘The pilot claims to have experienced possible engine failure on their final descent to Corona Municipal Airport,’ California Highway Patrol Captain Levi Miller said.
‘We’re very fortunate today that the traffic was light, and the pilot appears to have made some good landing navigation that avoided what could have been a very bad tragedy,’ Miller added.
The driver and three occupants of a pickup truck that was also struck by one of the planes wings were also unhurt.
Portions of the freeway were closed for several hours while the wreckage was cleared and investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration attempted to uncover the cause behind the crash.
The plane came to a halt on the shoulder of the road although several lanes were shut for hours
Portions of the freeway were closed for several hours while the wreckage was cleared and investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration attempted to uncover the cause of the crash