Two people were seriously injured after a small plane crashed Friday on the 405 freeway in Orange County near John Wayne Airport. Orange County Fire Captain Larry Kurtz said the Cessna 310 crashed at 9:30 a.m.
A woman who had been on the plane pulled a man from the wreckage and said he was her husband, according to a witness who spoke to KABC-TV. There was a report of one vehicle being clipped by the plane but the driver was reported to have suffered only a bruised arm.
Before the crash, a mayday call to the airport's tower was issued, where the pilot said they had experienced engine failure:
4:03 Pilot: Hey, we hot a mayday. We got a may..(cutoff)
4:07 Pilot: 87297, Mayday! Mayday!
4:16 Pilot: We're trying to make it back to the airport.
5:02 ATC: Gear appears to be up for 297
Pilot: Yeah, I know. We're still trying to get a little altitude. I'll put I down when I get to final, 297. I lost my right engine!
Southbound traffic on the freeway was backed up for miles.