On Sunday around 2:09 pm, a Cessna 172 crashed on train tracks near Whiteman Airport in Pacoima. What happened next was amazing.
Just moments before a Metrolink train traveling around 80 mph slammed into the immobilized plane, the pilot was extricated and pulled from the plane. Footage from police officer bodycam and bystander cellphones show officers lifting the bleeding pilot out of the cockpit and rushing away just as the train plows into the tail end of the plane sending debris flying.
The sole pilot was transported to a hospital and none of the passengers on the train were injured.
The cause of the emergency landing is under investigation by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot, 70-year-old Mark Jenkins suffered fairly significant damage to his face, a lot of broken bones, and broken ribs. It was reported that he is a very experienced pilot and a former fighter pilot for the Air Force. The pilot’s step-son-in-law believes the pilot landed on the train tracks to save lives on the ground.
The LAPD Foothill division officers who pulled Mark from the plane said they did what anyone would’ve done in that situation. They noted that some good Samaritans were at the ready to do the same before officers stepped in.
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