Pregnant Meghan's new bodyguard rushes her out of engagement at packed and sweltering market in Fiji after just SIX minutes - with worried aides blaming 'security risk' and 'crowd control' issues
'All we could see was pools and pools of blood': Florida man, 29, falls to his death on a cruise ship to the Bahamas during his OWN bachelor party
Left out of the economic boom: Nearly two-thirds of Americans haven't seen their finances improve since 2016
Talk about chills! Hurricane Willa is expected to bring first NOR'EASTER of the season with heavy rain, strong wings, and frigid temperatures on Halloween weekend
Rolling in it! At least one lucky winner of Mega Millions record-breaking $1.6billion jackpot as South Carolina confirms a winning ticket was sold there
Trump insists he is planning 10 percent tax cut for the middle classes amid skepticism it can get past lame duck Congress
This is payback! NBC takes a swipe at its own 'unpopular' $69million host Megyn Kelly by covering her groveling apology for controversial blackface comments
'Has your eagle picked all the olives and only has arrows left?': Putin cracks joke about US seal while hosting Trump's national security advisor John Bolton amid arms pact dispute
Six children dead and another 12 ill after contracting deadly adenovirus at New Jersey pediatric care facility days after inspectors 'found handwashing deficiencies'
'Kiss his f**king feet': Three teens are arrested after extremely disturbing Facebook video shows them threatening a boy with a GUN and then punching him
American mom and longtime public defender, 61, is murdered while on a dream vacation to Club Med Resort in Turks and Caicos
Harvey Weinstein's lawyers seek to settle ALL of his civil lawsuits - but accusers are asking for over $100million, MUCH more than his team is willing to pay
How Tom Cruise and Scientology 'saved suicidal James Packer' as it's claimed his late father Kerry was 'grateful for the controversial religion'
United flight diverts to Newark due to a 'compression issue' after takeoff while a Delta plane has to land because of a broken cockpit window
Canadian rapper, 34, dies after plunging from the wing of an airplane while filming a daring stunt for an upcoming music video
EXCLUSIVE: Thousands of volunteers are asked to register their driver's licenses before combing through Wisconsin woodland for missing Jayme Closs as investigators suspect they could be walking shoulder to shoulder with a killer
Has Prince Harry quit alcohol to support pregnant wife Meghan Markle?
Democrats' Florida governor candidate soars ahead in polls - but is hit by neo-Nazi group's racist robocalls and revelations he got Broadway tickets in an FBI sting
Advantage Boston! Benintendi and Nunez star as Red Sox win Game 1 of te World Series
Convicted murderer whose identical twin brother confessed to the 2003 killing 11 years later is DENIED a retrial
'An unknown male entered the residence uninvited and sat down mumbling incoherently': Broncos backup quarterback Chad Kelly is arrested for trespassing and could face up to four years in prison
Now that's a HIGH school! Girl, 14, is arrested for giving three students Rice Krispie treats laced with pot in class that sent them to hospital
Why you SHOULD discipline other people's children when they misbehave - and what to do and say so their parents aren't offended
Migrant caravan pauses for a day to honor man who died falling off of an overloaded truck in desperate journey to get to the US

A small vintage plane crash-landed on lanes of the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles
The aircraft burst into flames but incredibly, the pilot walked away
The crash snarled traffic about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles

Published: 18:12 EDT, 23 October 2018 | Updated: 01:44 EDT, 24 October 2018

e-mail

A pilot escaped injury after his vintage single-engine plane crashed and burst into flames on a Southern California freeway Tuesday, authorities said.

The plane struck the center divider of U.S. 101 and the pilot, the only occupant, was safely removed before flames consumed much of the aircraft, the Los Angeles County Fire Department said.

No vehicles on the ground were involved in the afternoon crash that snarled traffic about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

A small vintage plane crash-landed on lanes of the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles on Tuesday, bursting into flames, and amazingly, the pilot walked away

Images tweeted by drivers on the freeway showed the vintage airplane in flames, emitting a black cloud of smoke

This photo taken from video and provided by KTLA-TV shows a vintage North American AT-6 airplane that crashed on U.S. 101 in Agoura Hills, California

Los Angeles County firefighters arrived at the crash site near Liberty Canyon Road about 2pm

The North American AT-6 belonged to the Condor Squadron, a group that performs mock dogfights for air shows and flies in formation over parades, memorial services and events commemorating veterans, said president Chris Rushing.

'The pilot did a great job getting it down and not hitting any cars,' he said.

The plane's wing, still in flames, was draped over the center divider as crews worked to extinguish the blaze and amazed commuters recorded video.

A passing motorist managed to film the plane as it came in for a landing on the freeway

The plane then bounced along the road as the pilot struggle to maintain control of the aircraft

The pilot nearly pulled off the perfect landing but something went wrong at the last moment

The pilot, whose name was Rob flies professionally for Alaska Airlines, was out on a training exercise, Rushing said. He didn't know what caused the crash.

The pilot told Eyewitness News that he had experienced engine failure.

'I picked a spot on the freeway where I knew there was a big section of cars that weren't there,' said the pilot, who identified himself as Rob.

'The engine completely failed. I was able to fortunately not hurt anybody, other than the airplane.'

The pilot escaped uninjured and no one on the ground was hurt. The crash snarled traffic about 30 miles west of downtown Los Angeles

The North American SNJ-5 airplane with the pilot aboard as the solo occupant crashed near the center lanes of the northbound 101 Freeway

The plane crashed on the far left lane on the northbound side and erupted in flames. The aircraft ended up crumpled up against the center divider

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate, said FAA spokesman Allen Kenitzer.

The back end of the plane appeared to be missing as the fire continued to burn on lanes. It took off from Van Nuys Airport, a spokesperson confirmed.

The plane was painted with World War II-era German air force markings, Rushing said.

The vintage aircraft featuring German markings on the wings is usually seen in parades and belongs to the Condor Squadron club, Van Nuys Airport said.

The club non-profit organization -- founded by WWII pilots in 1965 -- is dedicated to preserving aviation history.

The AT-6 was developed in the 1930s and used as a training aircraft by U.S. pilots during World War II.

The pilot, named Rob, usually flies for Alaska Airlines. He is helping investigators work out what went wrong

The pilot, center, stand in the middle of the freeway looking at the remains of his plane. Incredibly he walked away uninjured and managed to avoid hitting any vehicles on the ground