A small plane has landed on the 405 Freeway near John Wayne Airport on Friday morning, sending smoke billowing above Santa Ana and forcing the closure of the freeway in both directions.
A man runs toward the wreckage of a plane on the 405 Freeway on June 30, 2017. (Credit: Nga Dieu)
The plane is on the southbound freeway near the MacArthur Boulevard exit.
The Cessna 310 aircraft landed on the freeway short of the runway at 9:35 a.m, the Santa Ana airport tweeted. The airfield is closed to arrivals, but departures are not affected.
Video recorded from a vehicle on the freeway showed black smoke billowing from the wreckage, with flames rising in the area of the center divider. Debris was all over the freeway, and bystanders could be seen stopping to help two people, at least one of whom was lying on the freeway pavement.
Two people were taken out of the plane, according to the California Highway Patrol’s traffic log.
A Federal Aviation Administration record for the plane’s tail number indicated it was a 1975 fixed-wing Cessna 310R registered to a Santa Ana company called Twin Props.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
Cessna 310 aircraft landed on the 405 freeway short of the runway at 9:35 am. Airfield is closed to arrivals. Ck airlines for arrival info.
— John Wayne Airport (@JohnWayneAir) June 30, 2017