Plane Crash On 405 Freeway Near John Wayne Airport, Dramatic Pilot Rescue: Video

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A small plane went down shortly after takeoff from John Wayne Airport Friday morning, crash-landing onto the 405 freeway, approximately 1,000 feet from an airport runway.

The 405 freeway was in chaos the majority of the day Friday, with all northbound lanes of the 405 open as of 3:30 p.m. and only the carpool lane open on the southbound 405. The southbound side of the freeway remained closed throughout the day with lanes reopening by 6 p.m., according to the California Highway patrol.

At 9:30 a.m. a 6-seater Cessna 310 carrying a male pilot and female passenger crashed on the freeway, severely injuring both according to Orange County Fire Authority. Witnesses at the scene rendered aid as the plane ignited, with vehicles still attempting to pick their way through the 405 wreckage under a veil of black smoke.

The Cessna struck the center divider between Northbound and Southbound 405 just north of MacArthur, landing in the southbound lanes according to California Highway Patrol Commander Ryan Shackleford.

"The plane caught fire before hitting the right wall of the southbound 405," he said. Three vehicles came into contact with the plane or parts of it, and one vehicle struck landing gear on the northbound 405 according to Shackleford.

The cessna collided with a blue Toyota pickup truck being used as an Uber transport, according to California Highway Patrol. Neither the Uber driver or his passenger were injured in the crash according to reports.

An off duty fire captain from Avalon witnessed the crash and helped aid in the rescue the pilot, according to Orange County Fire Authority. The female passenger was attempting to extract him from the plane when help arrived as the plane caught fire.

"The two victims both had critical, traumatic injuries and have been transported to a burn center," Orange County Fire Authority Captain Larry Kurtz said. "The female passenger helped extract the pilot from the plane, along with the off-duty fire captain."

Two people in the aircraft, a man and a woman said to be in their 50s and 60s, were pulled from the plane and were being treated for major injuries, Orange County Fire Authority Captain Larry Kurtz said. They were taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, according to Thompson.

"You know as well as I do know all the traffic problems on the 405 no matter where you are, and for a plane to actually land on the freeway and only clip one vehicle is extraordinary, and the fact that the person in the vehicle also was pretty much uninjured is also extraordinary," Kurtz told reporters at the scene. "I talked to the individual (in the truck) and he said it definitely was a shock to him to suddenly see a plane on the freeway. But the great thing is that ... right now all we have is a plane on the freeway."

According to the FAA flight plan for the small craft, the pilot and his passenger were headed to Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport in Palm Springs, California Friday morning, according to FAA spokesperson Ian Greggor.

The twin-engine Cessna 310 departed from John Wayne Airport Friday morning, but attempted to return to the airport for unknown reasons.

"The pilot declared an emergency shortly after taking off and was trying to return to the airport when the plane crashed on the southbound 405 Freeway short of Runway 20R," Greggor said.

The pilot of the Cessna 310 radioed that he had lost one of his engines just after takeoff and then made a frantic mayday call to air traffic controllers seconds before the plane came down on the southbound lanes, north of the MacArthur Boulevard exit.

"We got a mayday! We got a mayday! ... I can't make it back to the airport," he could be heard saying.

"FAA inspectors were en route to the scene shortly after the crash occurred," Greggor said.

A full freeway shutdown and a brief closure of the airport to arriving flights followed as emergency vehicles responded to the scene. As of 11:45 a.m. the northbound 405 reopened to traffic, but the 405 Southbound at MacArthur remained closed to traffic due to emergency vehicles, cleanup and FAA investigation into the crash, with a backup of traffic up to five-miles long.

All flights in and out of John Wayne Airport have resumed back to normal, and all lanes of the 405 Freeway are reopened.

Read: SIGAlert: 405 Southbound Near MacArthur Closed Friday Due To Plane Crash

All drivers headed southbound 405 in that area were advised to seek alternate routes according to California Highway Patrol.

The 405 Freeway in Orange County is one of the busiest freeways in the world, and holiday travel is expected to be record-setting this weekend, according to AAA.

"Anyone headed to the airport today needs to find a route other than the 405," John Wayne Airport Public Relations Information Officer Deanna Thompson said Friday morning. "It's really a mess, and it's a terrible shame."

According to on-scene reports, the Cessna 310 crash landed on the 405 short of the runway at just after 9:30 a.m. Friday morning and subsequently caught fire, sending a smoke plume visible for miles. The condition of the pilot and passenger, pulled from the craft, is unclear at this time.

The plane crash was first reported by eyewitnesses as smoke clouds from the event could be seen for miles, and debris was reported in the area on the 405 southbound.

The small plane initially impacted at the northbound 405 freeway, according to initial statements from the scene where the Cessna 310 aircraft was being doused with foam by Orange County Fire Authority firefighters.

The airport was closed to arrivals for approximately 30 minutes following the crash. "Departing flights were not affected," Thompson said.

The downed plane is a 1975 Cessna 310R fixed wing multi engine plane that seated six, though only two passengers were reported removed from the aircraft. It is owned by Twin Props Corporation of Santa Ana according to registration.

Photo credit: Twitter user @dggrfan, used with permission.

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