Los Angeles police officers put themselves in harm’s way Sunday, when they rushed to free a pilot whose small plane crashed on railroad tracks — and they did it just seconds before a train collided with the downed aircraft.
The chaotic and harrowing scene was captured on film and shared later by the LAPD’s official Twitter account.
“Foothill Division Officers displayed heroism and quick action by saving the life of a pilot who made an emergency landing on the railroad tracks at San Fernando Rd. and Osborne St., just before an oncoming train collided with the aircraft,” the description reads.
“Go, go, go, go, go!” a cop can be heard yelling while officers scramble to pull the man away from the plane just moments before the rapid-speed train collision.
Watch the shocking footage (caution: graphic):
Foothill Division Officers displayed heroism and quick action by saving the life of a pilot who made an emergency landing on the railroad tracks at San Fernando Rd. and Osborne St., just before an oncoming train collided with the aircraft. pic.twitter.com/DDxtGGIIMo
— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) January 10, 2022
The crash unfolded around 2 p.m. Sunday, with the plane landing on Metrolink Antelope Valley line train tracks, Fox News reported.
Officer Christopher Aboyte told CNN what unfolded just moments before the shocking scene in the footage.
“It wasn’t until I heard one of my coworkers behind me say, ‘The train is coming and we need to get him out now,'” Aboyte said. “At that point, I never actually turned to see the train, just focused on getting the pilot out and getting away from that aircraft since there was a lot of aircraft fuel on the ground.”
Other officers echoed this sentiment: their central focus was freeing the trapped pilot.
The unidentified man, who was taken for medical care after the accident and was said to be “seriously injured,” was flying a Cessna 172, a single-engine airplane.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said on Instagram that the crash unfolded shortly after the pilot left Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, California.
“Los Angeles Police Officers from the nearby Foothill Community Police Station and others in the vicinity quickly came to the pilot’s aid, with LAPD Officers bravely pulling the man to safety from the damaged aircraft moments before a commuter train struck the plane,” the description read.
Let’s all pray for the man’s recovery. This was a very close call for all involved.
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