(NewsNation Now) — Police in Los Angeles pulled the pilot from a crash-landed Cessna seconds before the aircraft was hit by a train on Sunday, sending debris flying in all directions.
The Cessna 172 crashed around 2:10 p.m. shortly after takeoff from Whiteman Airport in the San Fernando Valley community of Pacoima, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Dramatic video footage posted on Twitter by the Los Angeles Police Department shows several officers freeing the man from the downed plane. The officers and pilot are just a few feet away from the tracks when the passing train destroys the plane.
The department applauded its officers, saying in the tweet they had “displayed heroism and quick action by saving the life of a pilot who made an emergency landing on the railroad tracks.”
“The plane had a failed takeoff and landed on the train tracks at a popular intersection,” said Luis Jimenez, the 21-year-old music composer who filmed the video. “Just seconds before impact, police officers saved the pilot, and a piece of debris almost hit me.”
The pilot was treated for cuts and bruises and is in a stable condition, according to KTLA. No one on the train was injured.
The condition of the pilot, the only person onboard the plane, has not yet been released.
NewsNation affiliate KTLA and Reuters contributed to this report.