Watch this! Plane crashes on freeway and hits car – all caught on camera

Plane crash on California freeway
(Image credit: Corona Fire Department)

An incredible plane crash was caught on camera this week, from multiple angles, as a light aircraft smashed into a freeway in southern California, hitting another vehicle before bursting into flame.

Miraculously no one was injured in the incident, including two people who escaped the burning wreckage of the plane and three people in the pickup truck that was hit. With the huge uptake of front and rear dash cams, a number of spectacular views of the crash were recorded – including the footage viewable in the YouTube video embedded below.

• The best dash cams can capture extraordinary road incidents

"We have one plane involved with the two passengers, the pilot and the passengers on the plane were able to exit prior to the fire," said the first responder attending the incident on State Route 91 in Corona, California, USA. "It will be non-injury"

The Federal Aviation Authority is currently investigating the incident. It is possible that the plane suffered an engine failure and the pilot was forced to touch down in an emergency landing; in such situations, landing on a stretch of road (rather than unstable, rough ground) is often the preferred option for a safe landing.

Obviously, though, landing on a freeway in California invariably means contending with traffic. Thankfully it was not the rush hour period of the day and, despite colliding with a pickup truck, the pilot was able to capably weave and avoid other vehicles to avoid a more serious incident. 

"We're very fortunate today that traffic was light, and the pilot appears to have made some good landing navigation that avoided a very bad tragedy," said a Corona law enforcement official.

A news story on the incident, showing more harrowing footage of the crash, can be seen on the ABC News website.

Read more: 

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James Artaius
Editor

The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera MagazinePhotoPlus: The Canon MagazineN-Photo: The Nikon MagazineDigital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.