LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles police officers pulled an injured pilot from the wreckage of a small plane that crashed onto the tracks, shortly before a commuter train hit the plane over the weekend.
Bodycam videos shows officers working frantically Sunday afternoon to free the bloody pilot from the cockpit of a crumpled Cessna 172.
“Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!” someone yelled as officers dragged the man away seconds before the Metrolink train, its horn blaring, blasted through the plane.
The plane crashed shortly after take-off at 2: 10 p.m. from Whiteman Airport in Pacoima’s San Fernando Valley community, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. A timestamp on a police officer’s camera shows the train hitting the plane at 2:15pm
The plane landed on the tracks at a railroad track just a few blocks from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Foothill Division station, and officers arrived at the crash scene almost immediately.
CBSN Los Angeles said four officers kicked the pilot out and dragged him onto the sidewalk. The station identified them as Damien Castro, Christopher Aboyte, Robert Sherock and Sgt. Joseph Cavestany.
It is unclear exactly how long it took before authorities realized the plane was on the tracks, or exactly when police notified the railway, but officers realized that there was no time left. more time.
“I asked Metrolink to stop all train operations, but obviously that didn’t happen,” Cavestany said.
The male pilot was the only person on board and was taken to the hospital for treatment, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. He was not identified and no other injuries were reported.
“Having witnessed what happened, I am grateful to be alive. I’m grateful that the pilot also survived,” Sherock said.
Metrolink subsequently discontinued train service and road traffic was disrupted in an area about 20 miles (32 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. FAA and National Traffic Safety Board will investigate.
