Plane Crashes Into Car On San Diego Freeway, Killing 1 And Injuring 5 [Report]
A small plane has crashed into a car on a San Diego County interstate highway, killing one person and injuring another five, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The plane crash happened Saturday morning (April 2) at around 9:15 a.m. along interstate 15 in the northern section of San Diego County, the Times said.
“The airplane was initially described as a small jet by a witness, according to the California Highway Patrol’s website. Traffic was jammed in the area, but the plane itself was mostly off the freeway, partially in some bushes.”
“At a news conference, a CHP spokesman said the FAA was investigating the cause of the crash. Witnesses told investigators that the plane appeared to have mechanical problems.”
ABC 7 in Los Angeles reports that despite the injuries of five people, only three were taken to area hospitals following the accident near Fallbrook, California.
NBC 7 in San Diego reported that all victims were taken to hospitals in the region.
“Officials told NBC 7 San Diego that one woman died and three victims were taken to Palomar Hospital. Two victims were taken to Sharp Linda Vista. Chris Saunders, a Palomar Hospital spokesman, said the extent of the victims’ injuries and their conditions are unknown as they are in the ER, he said.”
One of the witnesses of the accident told NBC 7 that the plane came close to his car during landing about 40 feet from him before “sliding” another 40 feet and slamming into the back of a parked car on the shoulder of Interstate 15.
Reporter Audra Stafford of CW6 in San Diego tweeted the following photo of the damage left over after the accident. It clearly shows the plane having entered the back of the vehicle, though it is unknown just how far into the vehicle the plan may have traveled before it stopped. It is also unknown how far both and the car may have slid before coming to rest.
Headed to plane crash on 15 JNO 76. NCounty Fire tells me plane hit car. 1 dead, 5 hurt inc pilot Pic: Aamiah Grant. pic.twitter.com/r9G22E9S67
— Audra Stafford (@SDentertainment) April 2, 2016
While rare, it is not unheard of for a plane to crash on a major highway. As the video below shows, it is sometimes larger flights that have problems near major highways. The flight in the video is TransAsia Airways Flight GE235, which crashed in Taiwan in early 2015.
The TransAsia flight did not result in many, if any, injuries on the interstate highway is clipped in its final moments. But its crash resulted in the loss of nearly 50 lives when it crashed after five minutes in the air. CNN reports one engine failed and then the pilot killed the other working engine.
“The plane is designed to be able to be flown on one engine.”
“The report also showed that the captain had failed simulator training less than a year earlier, partly because he had demonstrated a lack of knowledge of how to respond to engine flameout at takeoff.”
“The aircraft, which was less than a year old, flew perilously between buildings and clipped a bridge and a taxi before crashing into the shallow Keelung River in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei.”
Despite the heavy loss of life in that accident, CNN reported that 15 individuals survived the crash, though the entire flight crew – including the pilot who killed the wrong engine – were killed.
It is unknown at this time who was killed in the San Diego County plane crash, as the California Highway Patrol and the National Transportation Safety Board are both just starting investigations on the incident.
Local media reports that traffic is still backed up along Interstate 15, though Interstate 5 appears to be moving regularly despite heavier volume.
