Plane crashes on Interstate 405 in California
It’s not everyday you hear about a plane landing on the freeway, but that’s what happened in this news story out of California. The news reports that the Cessna 310 aircraft was flying over Interstate 405 near the local runway at John Wayne Airport when it put out a mayday call.
Air traffic controllers identified the call just moments before the crash. The pilot had been trying to signal the air traffic controllers that he was attempting to make it back to the airport. Unfortunately, he and his passenger did not make it to the runway and instead landed on Interstate 405.
The pilot tried to gain altitude before the collision, but he lost his right engine and was unable to control the plane. His landing gear was up at the time of the landing. Shockingly, the plane only struck one vehicle as it crashed and the driver of that vehicle only had a bruise as a result.
The pilot and his passenger were inside the plane as it burst into flames on the highway. The driver of the vehicle that was clipped happened to be a firefighter, so he rushed to the scene and helped pull the pilot and the female passenger from the wreckage. The freeway was left on fire following the crash, but fortunately, no one else was hurt. In this case, it was a best-case scenario that worked out with no fatalities.
Events like this are rare, but if you’re hurt as a result of a Pilot says ‘Hey, we got a mayday!,’ then crashes on freeway,” Michael Balsamo, June 30, 2017