2 aboard small plane that crashed on 405 Freeway identified

ByABC7.com staff KABC logo
Monday, July 3, 2017
2 aboard plane that crashed on 405 Fwy identified
The two people aboard the small airplane that crashed on the 405 Freeway near John Wayne Airport last week have been identified.

SANTA ANA, Calif. (KABC) -- The two people aboard the small airplane that crashed on the 405 Freeway near John Wayne Airport last week have been identified.

The California Highway Patrol identified the two as Francis Pisano, 62, and Jana Pisano, 55. The two reside in the community of Coto De Caza in Orange County.

WATCH: Fiery OC plane crash captured on video

An ABC7 viewer captured the very moment a small airplane crashed on the 405 Freeway in Orange County on Friday.

According to CHP's incident report, both suffered a spinal fracture and lacerations.

The plane they were in, a twin-engine Cessna 310, crashed Friday morning near the MacArthur Boulevard exit on the southbound side of the freeway.

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A twin-engine Cessna 310 seen moments before it crashed down on the 405 Freeway in Orange County on Friday, June 30, 2017.

The Cessna departed from John Wayne that morning, but the pilot declared an emergency and was trying to return to the airport when the crash occurred, the FAA said.

In a recording of the mayday call from LiveATC.net, the pilot can be heard telling the control tower that he was trying to get a little altitude before saying, "I lost my right engine."

The Pisanos were transported to the Orange County Global Medical Center, where they were reported to be making a slow but steady recovery.

Hospital officials said the pilot and his wife were in stable condition and their prognosis is positive.

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The plane only clipped one pickup truck on the freeway as it crashed. Blackstone Hamilton, the Uber driver in that clipped car, told ABC7 that the plane hit the rear end of his pickup truck, which then spun out of control.

Aside from the two aboard the plane, no one else was seriously injured, and no fatalities were reported.