A small plane crashed onto a Southern California freeway on Tuesday and struck a truck before breaking apart and erupting in flames.
Dramatic video showed the moment the single-engine Piper PA 32 plane lowered from the sky onto the eastbound lanes of the 91 Freeway near Lincoln Avenue in Corona around 12: 30 p.m. local time.
The plane appeared to bounce on the road upon impact and erupted in flames, releasing plumes of thick, black smoke.
Two people on the plane were able to safely exit the wreck, the Corona Fire Department said. Three people traveling in a truck hit by the aircraft were unharmed, according to NBC Los Angeles.
The video captured firefighters with the Corona Fire Department dousing the burning aircraft with water.
Andrew Cho, the pilot, said he took off from the nearby Corona Municipal Airport for a short trip earlier in the day. When he flew back to the airport, his plane suddenly lost power and had to find a spot on the highway to set the aircraft down.
My biggest fear was hitting other cars, he told NBC Los Angeles. I saw enough of a gap there and I just went for the gap. Cho was able to avoid most cars on the freeway.
Armando Ramirez's Toyota Tundra wasn't one of them. He told the news station he was on his way to visit family members when he heard the plane slam into his truck. Ramirez said he was grateful that he wasn't killed.
Jerry Saika saw a heart-stopping moment when the plane came down and raced to help out at the scene.
I know that it came down, so I came out rushing from my car to make sure he was OK, he said.
The traffic was light today and the pilot appeared to make good landing navigation and avoided a very bad tragedy, he said.
NBC News reached out to the California Highway Patrol for more information about the incident, which is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.