Interstate 405 - Irvine, CA
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
N 33° 41.116 W 117° 51.762
11S E 420036 N 3727594
On June 30th, 2017, a small Cessna twin prop plane crash landed on I-405 just short of Runway 20R. Shortly after take off, the plane declared an emergency due to engine failure. Upon return to the airport, the plane stalled and hit the interstate.
Waymark Code: WMWB18
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 08/05/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 3

The plane crash landed just after 9:30 am on June 30th, 2017. It was carrying two souls on board, the pilot and his wife. Due to engine failure, the plane did not have enough speed to maintain lift, so it stalled just short of the runway. Video from a passenger in a car heading north on Interstate 405, showed the aircraft rising steeply then nosediving and making a sharp turn to the left. The plane hit the center divider and immediately burst into flames. It then bounced to the southbound lanes of the interstate, and hit the emergency shoulder concrete barrier before it bounced again to the south. It stopped in right two southbound lanes but nor before making contact with at least three vehicles. One on the north bound lanes, and two in the southbound lanes. Miraculously, no one was killed.

NTSB shortly took over the incident which led to both directions of the interstate to be shut down and all incoming traffic to the airport was diverted to Los Angeles International about 25 miles away. Southbound traffic was closed passed California State Route 55. At about 10:00am, northbound traffic on I-405 was partially reopened and the halt of incoming traffic to the airport was lifted. Only the left two lanes (including the carpool) were closed for investigation. At the same time, the fire was extinguished by the John Wayne Airport Fire Department with conjunction with the city of Irvine.

Shortly after, airport investigators began surveying the damage. Taking photos and marking key items with spray paint. Once everything was catalogued, the aircraft was moved to the shoulder and the aircraft parts were taken away.

At 11:30 am, only the carpool southbound lane was reopened. Shortly after at 12:00, the left three lanes were open. At about 1:00 pm all southbound lanes were reopened. At the same time, all lanes of northbound traffic were also reopened.

The two people on board the aircraft were transferred to a nearby trauma hospital. Luckily, there were no fatalities.
Web Address for Related Web Sites: [Web Link]

Date of Crash: 06/30/2017

Aircraft Model: Cessna

Military or Civilian: Civilian

Cause of Crash:
Engine Failure


Tail Number: Not listed

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bluesnote visited Interstate 405 - Irvine, CA 08/05/2017 bluesnote visited it