LOS ANGELES — LAPD released footage Sunday evening that showed officers pulling an injured pilot from a small plane to safety just moments before a train came barreling through and collided with the aircraft that was disabled after it landed on the tracks.
The small aircraft was a Cessna 172, which is a single-engine airplane. It landed on the Metrolink Antelope Valley line train tracks. First responders arrived at the scene and managed to rescue the pilot seconds before a speeding train collided with the plane about 2 p.m. in Pacoima, FOX 5 reported.
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Video shows LAPD officers from the Foothill Division work at getting the pilot free from the craft, which was on the railroad tracks at San Fernando Road and Osborne Street. Pre-impact footage showed the nose of the aircraft was on the ground as landing gear was apparently damaged.
The unnamed pilot was bleeding from a head injury as police personnel pulled him about 15 feet from the plane before the dramatic impact. LAPD credited the “heroism and quick action” the officers took to save the pilot, who was was rushed to a regional trauma center for treatment.
There was no one else aboard the aircraft, FOX reported.
The Cessna 172 took off from Pacoima’s Whiteman Airport in the San Fernando Valley and crashed about 2:10 p.m., according to the FAA.
Traffic was detoured in the area about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles and officials said Metrokink train service was halted.
