A Los Angeles police officer who grabbed a pilot from the cockpit of his crashed plane and pulled him to safety moments before a train...
A Los Angeles police officer who grabbed a pilot from the cockpit of his crashed plane and pulled him to safety moments before a train crashed into the wreckage said his only thoughts were for the safety of the pilot.
'I was just really worried about the pilot and what was going to happen to him if we didn't get him out,' LAPD Foothill Division cop Robert Sherock said during his appearance on 'Fox & Friends First' Tuesday where he shared the harrowing details of the heart-stopping rescue.
'As the train got closer, I got more and more worried about him. Only afterwards thinking about it, you know, maybe I should've worried about myself too, but that's just not something that we thought about.'
Sherock said that his partner heard the 'desperation' in his voice as he urged him to help rescue the pilot even as the train barreled towards them.
'And then we just grabbed on and pulled as hard as we could, just ripped him out of there, and the rest is history,' he explained, adding that the pilot was in shock and said very little in the moments after his rescue.
The LAPD cop said that he has since seen the footage of his dramatic rescue and even he is blown away by how close the pilot - and he - were to death.
'I even think this looks like a movie. You couldn't make this up,' he said. 'The timing was just unbelievable.'
'There's many acts of heroism that occur every day in law enforcement throughout the nation that go unnoticed,' he said. 'And I think it's important that… the public gets the chance to see what policing in America actually looks like.'
LAPD Foothill Division cop Robert Sherock who plucked bloodied pilot from cockpit seconds before high-speed train smashed into it says he grabbed onto him and pulled as hard as he could revealed he 'wasn't worried about myself'
LAPD Foothill Division cop Robert Sherock appeared on ' Fox & Friends First ' Tuesday to share the harrowing details of the heart-stopping rescue
Sherock said he became very aware of how close the fast-approaching train was as he and fellow officers struggled to free the pilot from the metal wreckage of the destroyed Cessna 172, according to video shared by police.
'Go, go, go, go, go,' an officer shouted.
Six seconds later, an oncoming Metrolink train ran right through the aircraft.
The unidentified pilot, who was dragged from the plane, had blood pouring from his head and was unable to walk. He was taken to the hospital in an unknown condition. He was only person on the plane and no other injuries were reported, according to Sacramento station KCRA.
A shocking video shows the moment Los Angeles police officers rescued a bloody pilot from a small plane that crash-landed onto railroad tracks just seconds before it was pummeled by an oncoming train Sunday afternoon
Officers pried away the metal wreckage and pull out an unidentified pilot from a destroyed Cessna 172, according to video shared by police
The pilot was not able to walk as officers pulled him out of the wreckage and dragged him away from the plane. He was later hospitalized
They finally rescue the pilot - who appears unable to walk and has blood pouring from his head - and drag him down the street, away from the train tracks
Officers managed to pull him away from the wreckage near Whiteman Airport in Los Angeles, California, eight seconds before it was hit by an oncoming MetroLink train
The train eventually crashed through the plane at around 2.30pm, according to one report
The Federal Aviation Authority says the plane took off from Whiteman Airport in the Pacoima neighborhood of Los Angeles and crash landed on the tracks at 2:10pm on Sunday.
The crash site is just outside the perimeter of the airport, and it is unclear what caused it.
The Los Angeles Police Department tweeted Sunday night: 'Foothill Division Officers displayed heroism and quick action by saving the life of a pilot who made an emergency landing on the railroad tracks at San Fernando Rd. and Osborne St., just before an oncoming train collided with the aircraft.'
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.
Officials said Metrolink service was paused and road traffic was detoured in the area, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Photos from the scene showed the single-engine plane landed with its wing and nose touching the pavement along the railroad tracks, KCRA reports.
Cessna 172s are single-engine, four seat planes. They range in price from $369,000 to $438,000 depending on upgrades, according to Flying magazine.
Los Angeles police officers rushed to help the pilot of a Cessna 172 after he crashed on to train tracks as a MetroLink service approached at speed on Sunday afternoon
Officers pried away the metal wreckage and pull out an unidentified pilot from a destroyed Cessna 172, according to video shared by police
Officers acted quickly to drag the pilot out of the plane with six seconds before a train came
Hero Los Angeles police officers were seen dragging the man to safety in the heart-stopping footage near Whiteman Airport on Sunday afternoon
Hero Los Angeles police officers were filmed dragging the Cessna 172 pilot to safety moments before a train pulverized the aircraft wreckage
The pilot was not able to walk as officers pulled him out of the wreckage and dragged him away from the plane. He was later hospitalized
MetroLink service was paused and road traffic was detoured in the area after the accident
The plane had taken off from Whiteman Airport in suburban Pacoima, according to the FAA
The plane is owned by a Santa Clarita resident and has a valid registration through May 2025, according to according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The plane crashed at around 2:10pm and was hit by the train about 20 minutes later.
It remained on the tracks at 3pm.
Parts of its engine and fuselage were strewn across the crash site along with broken railway signs. Firefighters contained a small amount of fuel that leaked out of it.
The pilot was taken to the hospital, but his condition is unknown.
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