The pilot of a small plane that was nearly killed by a train in Pacoima in January of this year, had an encounter with the officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD ) that saved his life.
An officer’s body camera showed the dramatic moment in which the aircraft’s pilot, Mark Jenkins, was pulled from the plane seconds before it was destroyed by a Metrolink train on January 9, 2022 .
Related: VIDEO: Light aircraft pilot is rescued seconds before being run over by a train in Los Angeles
This Saturday, 4 LAPD officers from the Foothill Division were recognized for the rescue that saved Jenkins’s life.
“I told you I loved you, thank you for saving my life”, Jenkins thanked at the meeting. “They did their duty and I thank them very much for that.”
The meeting was held at the Condor Squadron base, with which Jenkins is associated. The honored LAPD officers had the opportunity to fly with the squadron pilots.
“Remembering that moment, hearing the train and feeling the vibrations through the floor and just hearing the metal crumbling, I thought : ‘Wow, that was very close. I’m thankful we’re alive and Mark is alive,” said Officer Christopher Aboyte.
“It’s like the stars aligned on that day. He wasn’t even supposed to be there. I was on vacation, that day I worked a little overtime. I was coming back from another call, and I don’t normally take that route back to the station, but I could see the plane go down,” recalled Sergeant Joseph Cavestany.
On Sunday, January 9, Jenkins’s plane had an engine failure and crashed into railroad tracks near Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, at an intersection less than a mile from the LAPD Foothill Division office.
Looking back on that day, Jenkins said he doesn’t remember much about the plane crash, but said, when the aircraft’s engine began to fail, I only had in mind not to kill anyone on the ground.
“I had seconds to take a decision about what to do. I always knew that if I had an engine failure and I wasn’t higher than the tower I had to take evasive action and land somewhere where I wouldn’t kill people, my goal was to land where I wouldn’t kill anyone; I take a chance, they don’t, and I didn’t have anyone in my way except for the train tracks,” Jenkins said.
When the aircraft crashed, officers moved quickly to rescue Jenkins from the cockpit before that the Metrolink train destroyed it.
The group was grateful for the meeting between the pilot of the plane and his rescuers.
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