LAPD officers pull pilot from plane seconds before train crash in dramatic video
LAPD headquarters praised the officers who managed to pull the pilot to safety
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Police Department late Sunday released footage that showed police officers pulling a bleeding pilot to safety just moments before a barreling train collided with his plane stuck on the tracks.
The crash occurred at about 2 p.m. in Pacoima. The Cessna 172, a single-engine airplane, landed on the Metrolink Antelope Valley line train tracks, Fox 5 San Diego reported. Rescue crews arrived at the scene and managed to extricate the plane’s pilot seconds before a speeding train collided with the plane.
The video showed officers from the LAPD’s Foothill Division attempting to free the pilot on the railroad tracks at San Fernando Road and Osborne Street. The pilot was bleeding heavily from an injury to his head and officers pulled him about 15 feet from the plane before impact. The police department credited the "heroism and quick action" the officers took to save the man.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LAPD officers were credited for their heorism after pulling a bleeding pilot from a plane just moments before it wad hit by a speeding train. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) ((Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The report said the pilot’s identification was not immediately released, but he was rushed to a regional trauma center for treatment. He was the only person on board.
The Cessna 172 crashed around 2:10 p.m. shortly after takeoff from Whiteman Airport in the San Fernando Valley community of Pacoima, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Photos from the scene showed the single-engine plane came to a stop with its left wing and nose touching the pavement along the railroad tracks.
Officials said Metrolink train service was halted and road traffic was detoured in the area about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.