Pilot of crashed plane rescued seconds before train smashes into wreckage

A pilot was having a bad day anyway when his plane crash landed, then he had to be rescued seconds before a train smashed into the wreckage.

A group rescues the pilot (circled) as the train approaches the stricken plane. Picture: CBS/Luis Jimenez/Twitter

A pilot has been pulled from the wreckage of his crashed aeroplane just seconds before a train slammed into it at high speed.

Dramatic footage recorded by a passer-by shows the pilot’s lucky escape followed by the debris of the mangled craft being sent flying into the air, narrowly missing scores of people.

The incident happened in Pacoima, a suburb of northern Los Angles, on Sunday afternoon local time.

A single engine Cessna 172 plane crash landed onto railway tracks adjacent to Whiteman Airport, a general aviation airfield in the San Fernando Valley area

A group rescues the pilot (circled) as the train approaches the stricken plane. Picture: CBS/Luis Jimenez/Twitter

The train then smashes into the wreckage. Picture: CBS/Luis Jimenez/Twitter

The downed aircraft’s position was in the middle of a passenger line served by trains headed toward Los Angles’ Union station.

The Los Angeles Police Department said its officers pulled the sole occupant out “just before the approaching train collided with the unoccupied plane.”

The rescue and collision were filmed by a bystander identified by local news station CBS-LA as a local musician Luis Jimenez.

Frightening cell phone video of first responders pulling a pilot to safety seconds before a train slams into the plane that crashed onto the tracks near Whiteman Airport in Pacoima. @CBSLA#BreakingNow#news#crash#kcal 📸 Luis Jimenez https://t.co/[e-mail]/D4VhNPGYID

— JASMINE VIEL (@jasmineviel) January 10, 2022

The footage shows officers scrambling to release the pilot and then rushing him across the tracks as the Metrolink trains bares down.

Horns screeching, the trains smashes into the Cessna just seconds later.

Standing no chance against the train, the plane is torn apart with the wing sent flying over the heads of onlookers on the road next to the track.

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

Another video, posted by the LAPD, shows bodycam footage of the officers pulling the bloodied and dazed pilot out of the plane. Colleagues shout “go, go, go” as he is literally pulled away from the aircraft as the train ploughs through.

The force said its officers “displayed heroism and quick action by saving the life of a pilot”.

Debris from the plane is sent flying. Picture: CBS/Luis Jimenez/Twitter

CBS reported that the driver was taken to a local hospital to be treated for unspecified injuries.

No one else was on board the plane and there were no other injuries.