Plane Crashes In Los Angeles County, Then Is Hit By Train – The Mercury News
Eric Licas
PUBLISHED: January 9, 2022 at 2:38 p.m. | UPDATED: January 11, 2022 at 4:47 a.m.
Categories:California News, Crashes and Disasters, Crime and Public Safety, Latest Headlines, News, Transportation
Bystanders pulled the pilot from a plane that had crash-landed Sunday on train tracks near a San Fernando Valley airport shortly before a train slammed into the wreckage.
The Cessna 172 went down on the tracks adjacent to Whiteman Airport in Pacoima shortly after taking off around 2:10 p.m., Los Angeles Fire Department officials said. About 20 minutes later, a Metrolink train barreled into it — but its sole occupant had been pulled to safety.
“He’s out of there, they got him out!” people were heard shouting in video recorded at the scene by a news videographer with OC Hawk
The pilot was transported to a hospital. No one on the ground or in the train was reported injured.
The plane remained on the tracks as of 3 p.m. Sunday, halting all train traffic through the area. Portions of the plane’s engine and fuselage, as well as broken railway crossing signs, littered the ground around the crash site. A small amount of fuel that leaked out of it was contained by firefighters.
The aircraft is owned by a Santa Clarita resident and its registration is valid through May 2025, according to Federal Aviation Administration officials. The cause of the emergency landing was under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.