Two people escaped the burning wreckage of a small plane that crash-landed Tuesday afternoon on the 91 Freeway in Riverside County.
The single-engine Piper PA-32 flying to Corona Municipal Airport went down at about midday on the eastbound 91 Freeway in Corona and might have struck at least one vehicle, according to the Corona Fire Department. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire that erupted after the plane crash about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
A small plane crashed on the 91 Freeway in Corona Aug. 9, 2022.
Two occupants of the single-engine airplane escaped uninjured, City News Service reported, citing the Corona Fire Department.
There were no reports of injuries to people on the ground. A pickup at the scene of the crash appeared to have sustained damage to a tail-light.
Driver Armando Ramirez said he was traveling from Santa Ana to visit family when he felt something strike the rear of his pickup. He said he felt very fortunate to avoid much worse.
Lanes were closed near the Buena Vista Avenue exit. Eastbound traffic came to a standstill after the crash.
The Federal Aviation Administration for more information confirmed there were two people on board the plane and that the pilot reported an engine issue.
A small plane made a crash landing and burst into flames on the 91 Freeway in Riverside County Tuesday afternoon in a dramatic incident that was captured on video.
Fortunately, no one was hurt.
The crash-landing happened at 12:31 pm in the eastbound lanes of the freeway near Lincoln Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Dramatic video obtained by KTLA shows the single-engine Piper Cherokee dropping from the sky, hitting the freeway, and then leaving a trail of burning fuel as it slides toward the sound barrier.
“The pilot claims to have experienced possible engine failure on their final descent to Corona Municipal Airport,” CHP Capt. Levi Miller said.
The plane also hit a truck carrying three people.
Incredibly, both the pilot and passenger on the plane and all three occupants in the truck escaped unharmed.
“(We’re) very fortunate today that the traffic was light, and the pilot appears to have made some good landing navigation that avoided what could have been a very bad tragedy,” Miller said.
Eastbound lanes of the 91 Freeway were closed for several hours as authorities investigated the crash and removed the wreckage.
CROWN, Calif. (KABC) — A single-engine airplane crashed into a pickup truck on the 91 Freeway in Corona and then burst into flames, authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol began receiving reports of a plane crash just after 12:30 pm on Tuesday.
The incident happened along the eastbound lanes at Lincoln Avenue.
WATCH | Surveillance video shows plane crash-landing on 91 Freeway in Corona
CHP officials said there were two people on the plane and three in the truck. Thankfully, everyone was able to walk away unharmed.
The single-engine Piper Cherokee aircraft erupted into flames following the crash, but firefighters put the blaze out quickly.
The pilot said the crash may have been caused by possible engine failure during the plane’s final descent into Corona Municipal Airport. The exact cause has not yet been determined.
Authorities say it could have been much worse if the crash occurred during rush hour.
“Absolutely very fortunate today. The traffic was light, and the pilot appears to have made some good landing navigations and avoided what could have been a very bad tragedy,” said CHP Capt. Levi Miller.
The two right lanes on the eastbound 91 and the Lincoln on-ramp were closed and expected to remain shut down through much of the afternoon rush. Drivers in the area were urged to seek an alternate route as authorities cleared the scene.
Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration issued the following statement:
“An unidentified small plane landed on the eastbound 91 Freeway near Interstate 15 in Corona, Calif., around 12:30 local time today. Two people were on board. The FAA will investigate. The agency does not identify people involved in aircraft accidents or incidents.”
Kylie Spelde is aware people might be sick of hearing about the search for her sister, Janine Vaughan, who vanished almost 21 years ago.
But for Ms Spelde and her brother Adam Vaughan, Janine’s disappearance is a part of their everyday lives.
The “bright, bubbly, vivacious” 31-year-old was last seen getting into a red car after a night out at a pub in the central west NSW town of Bathurst.
What happened next has been a mystery for more than two decades, and the subject of a podcast, dozens of media stories and soon a documentary.
Sometimes Ms Spelde gets recognized by strangers who have seen some of the coverage, who confuse her with Janine.
She said sometimes people saw her sister as a concept, not a real person.
“A lot of the missing people that are out there, they just get labeled as a missing person, and I think people need to start realizing that they are somebody’s loved one, someone’s daughter, someone’s mother, and sister,” Ms Spelde said.
Kylie Spelde and Adam Vaughan hope their sister will be found alive.(Supplied: Kylie Spelde)
She said people were often awkward and unsure how to ask about the investigation.
“It was ‘oh have you found your sister yet?’ like she was this lost dog,” Ms Spelde said.
“When it’s a missing person, it’s an ongoing discomfort that people don’t want to ask.”
She said people would as “oh how’s the case going?” instead of “how are you coping?”.
Mr Vaughan said he remembered Janine as his “big, big, big sister” due to the 12 year age gap between them.
“Because she’s gone missing, we don’t know how to react, because we talk about her everyday,” Mr Vaughan said.
“It’s like she’s still here, it’s like she was just in the door yesterday.”
He said meeting new people always required him to consider how he explained Janine.
He said it was hard to know what to say.
“Do I say oh my sister died? And then it would be ‘oh, poor you’,” he said.
“Or, I’ve got a missing sister, and then the whole conversation for the rest of the night is about my missing sister.”
Janine Vaughan’s siblings remember her as “bright, bubbly and vivacious.”(Supplied: Kylie Spelde)
While the siblings have hope Janine will be found alive, that is not always the case for others.
“On one hand you’ve got the people who talk to you as if she’s just dead, and then that’s it, so they’ve got over it and they’re more worried about you,” Mr Vaughan said.
“Then there’s other people that kind of forget that she’s not dead, that we don’t know that she’s dead and if she’s still missing, and they don’t really know how to talk about it, so they kind of forget about her and everything goes on to what we’re doing.”
A 2009 coronial investigation found Janine was suspected to be murdered by an unknown individual.
Her family commissioned a billboard in 2020 which stands on the highway through the center of Bathurst.
A billboard features Janine Vaughan and the two other missing people.(Supplied)
It also features the images and information about two other people last seen in the city: 15-year-old Jessica Small, who was abducted in 1997, and Andrew Russell, last seen in 2010.
As National Missing Person’s Week came to an end for 2022, and the attention moved away from the more than 2,500 individuals not seen for at least three months, Ms Spelde said it was the hope of finding out what happened to her sister that kept her going .
“My hope is that I find Janine before I die, before something happens to me,” she said.
“So that’s my drive, that’s where I’m at, I’m like ‘I’ve got to do this’.”
NSW Police have offered a $1 million reward for information to help solve Janine’s disappearance and suspected murder.
“I would love to take that money from the government and make sure somebody’s got it, and it would also shine hope in other missing people’s families, if ours is solved, it gives other families hope,” Mr Vaughan said.
Anyone with any information relating to missing person cases can contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The wife of a man missing since 2017 says she feels hamstrung by the fact she cannot obtain a death certificate and move forward with her life, almost five years after they were separated on a bush path in far southern Tasmania.
Key points:
Bruce Fairfax went missing while bushwalking in October 2017, with police yet to finalize their investigations almost five years on
His wife Louise says without a death certificate for him, she faces obstacles in organizing her life
Under Tasmanian law, a “presumption of death” arises after seven years — but the Public Trustee says an earlier application can be made for a certificate through the Supreme Court
Louise Fairfax was with her husband Bruce when the pair set out to walk the track at Duckhole Lake, a flooded sinkhole surrounded by dense forest south of Hobart on October 14, 2017.
The pair, who were experienced hikers, were with their dog when they became separated on the path. The dog was later found.
A search involving police, SES volunteers and hikers was launched, with helicopter flyovers employing thermal detection methods to try and penetrate the thick scrub.
No trace of Mr Fairfax has ever been found.
Mr Fairfax, 66 at the time he disappeared, had Parkinson’s disease and would be unable to survive without his medication for more than a week, Tasmania Police said.
Louise Fairfax on top of Precipitous Bluff in south-west Tasmania.(Supplied: Louise Fairfax)
This week, police featured Mr Fairfax as one of the seven “long-term” missing people as part of Missing Person’s Week.
Speaking to ABC Hobart, Dr Fairfax said almost five years on from her husband’s disappearance, she had moved past the grief stage and was now battling with practicalities.
“There’s the grief aspect, the suggestion that the uncertainty might be an aspect; there’s also the practical dealing with the fact I don’t have a death certificate.”
Without that document, she was stuck on a number of fronts, she said.
“I’m not allowed to do a lot of things because all these companies and bureaucrats want to speak to Mr Bruce Fairfax, and I tell them that he is dead, and they say, ‘Where is your death certificate’, and I tell them I don’t have one… you go round in circles.
“I was trying to query an electricity bill and they wouldn’t speak to me, [they said] ‘No, you’re not Bruce Fairfax’ and they tell me to go to the coroner’s office to get a death certificate… golly what a great idea, as if I never thought of that.”
When contacted, Tasmania Police said in a statement Mr Fairfax’s case “will remain open until he is located (like all other missing persons), and any information received will be assessed for investigation”.
In a statement for the Public Trustee, a spokesperson said there was a “presumption of death which arises when seven or more years have elapsed since the disappearance of a person.”
“If it is proved that for a period of seven years no news has been received by persons who are likely to hear from that person if alive, and all appropriate inquiries have been made, then that person will be presumed to have died and the executor can apply to administer the estate.”
The spokesperson said “in some circumstances, it may not be necessary to wait the seven-year period” and an application can be made to the Supreme Court seeking leave to “swear to the death of a person”, but added however that “evidence is required as to the date and place of death.”
How specific the date and place of death needed to be was not detailed.
It would seem unless an application to the Supreme Court is made, Dr Fairfax will have to wait for seven years to elapse before a death certificate could potentially be issued, according to Tasmanian law.
When asked on Friday, she said she would look into it but was wary of costs.
Bruce Fairfax walking in snow at Cradle Mountain.(Supplied: Louise Fairfax)
She has continued to hike and climb across Tasmania and says she is fit, but fears what might happen if an accident happened at her home.
A sign left by family members on a tent owned by Bruce Fairfax, during the search for him at Duckhole Lake, southern Tasmania, in 2017.(News Video)
“If I break a bone, this house will become unliveable for me… a coroner’s certificate would be really handy so that if I need to sell this house, I can.”
Dr Fairfax said she hoped she could secure a death certificate “before I am like Miss Havisham”, a fictional character the Encyclopedia Britannica lists as the “half-crazed, embittered jilted bride in Charles Dickens’s novel Great Expectations”.
“[I’ll be living in living in a home where the weeds are taller than the house and the cobwebs and so great that I can barely fight my way to the kitchen,” she said.
The 4.2km trail at Duckhole Lake is surrounded by dense forest and rated as “suitable for most ages”.(TasTrails)
Since Bruce went missing, the family gathers “every year”, Dr Fairfax said.
“We have climbed a mountain together, we would all converge at Dover and walk to Duckhole Lake together.
“Bruce loved mountain climbing and we do too, it’s a nice family way of remembering him.”
Currently, in Tasmania, there are 171 long-term missing persons who date back to the 1950s.
During the 2021/22 year, 193 persons were reported missing in Tasmania, with five still unaccounted for.
Anyone with information regarding Bruce Fairfax’s disappearance is asked to contact Tasmania Police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers Tasmania at crimestopperstas.com.au or on 1800 333 000. Information can be provided anonymously.
Extra warning signs should be installed at a popular lookout and selfie spot in Victoria’s Grampians National Park where a woman fell to her death, a coroner has found.
Key points:
Rosy Loomba had finished taking a selfie with her husband at Boroka Lookout when she fell
Deputy state coroner Jacqui Hawkins found extra safety warnings could prevent similar deaths happening in the future
She said Ms Loomba’s death was “a reminder of the dangers” associated with ignoring safety mechanisms
Rosy Loomba, 38, was taking a photo at the Boroka Lookout — nicknamed “selfie rock” — when she fell to her death on December 12, 2020.
Ms Loomba had traveled with her family from Craigieburn in Melbourne’s north to the park for a picnic.
Deputy State Coroner Jacqui Hawkins found Ms Loomba and her husband had been taking photos after climbing an “easily scaled” fence surrounding the lookout.
Ms Loomba turned to walk back when she lost her balance and fell over.
“Mr Loomba jumped down to her and tried to pull her back up but was unable to reach her hand,” the coroner said in findings handed down on Monday.
“He held onto her legs and her clothing but was unable to grasp her. Mrs Loomba fell over the edge.”
About 30 people were at the lookout and there was a small queue of people waiting to have their photo taken at the time.
Victoria Police later investigated the incident and found it was a “tragic accident,” Ms Hawkins said.
The coroner accepted the opinion of a forensic pathologist who found the cause of death was multiple injuries sustained in a fall from a height.
Boroka Lookout is one of the most popular spots in the Grampians.(Supplied: Visit Grampians)
The coronial inquest found there was noticeable damage to the fence surrounding the lookout, likely caused by people standing on the wires to scale the fence.
“Parks Victoria provided a copy of the asset review for the Boroka Lookout area as of 23 June 2020, which did not identify the loose wires in the wire fencing,” Ms Hawkins found.
“I consider this to be a minor structural issue of the fencing in this area and am not of the view that it contributed to Mrs Loomba climbing over the fence or her subsequent fall.”
The coroner noted Parks Victoria had already added additional safety signage earlier this year in response to a death at that same lookout in 1999.
“Despite this earlier recommendation, I am of the view that extra signage could be added to this area to prevent such deaths occurring in the future,” she wrote in her findings.
“I note that adventurers and park attendees may continue to climb fences to access lookouts in order to get a photo or for their own curiosity.
“Mrs Loomba’s death is a reminder of the dangers associated with ignoring signage and fencing which is put in place to keep people safe.”
From a room filled with unopened birthday presents, to framed photos and videos on phones, the Spadafora family’s home is filled with sweet and painful reminders of the little girl they lost.
Key points:
Rozalia at first seemed to recover from an infection, but then her condition deteriorated
She was taken to Canberra Hospital, where her family say they were ignored for hours before she died
The ACT Coroner is investigating the circumstances surrounding her death
For the mother of five-year-old Rozalia Spadafora, who died earlier this month at the Canberra Hospital, bedtime is the worst.
“I sleep with the little pajamas that she had on at hospital because that’s the only thing I have,” Katrina Spadaford said.
“My son, he doesn’t even want to come out of his bedroom… he’s just distraught.”
‘No help ever came’
In the days before her fifth birthday, Rozalia became unwell with what the doctor at first thought was an ear infection.
It was initially believed Rozalia Spadafora had an ear infection.(Supplied)
“It was just like a thing that many kids have been through before: a fever, sore throat,” Katrina said.
“With antibiotics, within a couple of days she was back to almost her normal self.”
But the weekend before her birthday she took a turn for the worse.
She awoke pale and lethargic with a swollen face.
On the recommendation of a doctor, Katrina and her mother took Rozalia to the Canberra Hospital’s emergency department.
What followed was a long order, through which Rozalia was left waiting for hours with what the family described as only the most cursory of examinations.
Even when Rozalia began throwing up, Katrina said their calls for help weren’t answered.
“No help ever came,” she said.
“My mother went to find more bed linen and blankets.”
Emergency helicopter diverted to airport
Rozalia’s family say they want to know more about how and why she died.(ABC News: Harry Frost)
Eventually the family were told Rozalia had Influenza A, and there was swelling around her heart.
However, because no pediatric cardiologist was available, she would need to be flown to Sydney.
It took several more hours for a helicopter to arrive and, even then, the family were told it wasn’t able to land at the hospital because the “tarmac was damaged” and it was diverted to the airport.
Katrina said medical staff struggled to get monitoring equipment to work so Rozalia could be driven to the airport.
But by then it was too late. Rozalia went into cardiac arrest.
“Her eyes rolled back and I could tell that that was it,” Katrina said.
“They rushed me, my mom and my dad out of the room.
“They came to give updates while they were doing [cardio pulmonary resuscitation] — giving us false hope. I knew it was false hope.
“They tried for about an hour but they couldn’t bring her back — she passed away.”
Katrina said they had around 20 minutes with Rozalia’s body before police arrived to take statements.
Rozalia was too unwell to open her birthday presents, and died the day after her birthday.(Supplied)
The family were left in shock, but Katrina said they weren’t contacted by the hospital until the day that ABC News reported a coronial investigation was underway.
Katrina said the family has serious concerns about Rozalia’s treatment in the lead-up to her death.
“I want to know what exactly happened,” Katrina said.
“When did they know my daughter was that sick and why wasn’t I told?”
“And I want to know why we don’t have the equipment here to deal with these problems.
“Why do we need to go to Sydney?
“We’re in the nation’s capital – this is a joke.
“No other family should have to go through this.
Canberra too small for some specialized services, Chief Minister says
An investigation has been launched into the circumstances surrounding Rozalia’s death at the Canberra Hospital.(ABC News: Penny McLintock)
Speaking on ABC Canberra on Friday, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said attracting and maintaining specialist medical services to the capital was difficult, given the ACT’s population, compared to that of Sydney and Melbourne.
“That is a reality of a city of 450,000 people as opposed to a city of five million people,” Mr Barr said.
“The range of health services is always going to be larger [in bigger cities].
“There are certain things where even Australia, with 26 million people, is too small to be able to sustain really highly specialized services for very rare health conditions.
“We’re all very, very sad about that news [of Rozalia’s death] and obviously we’ll take any recommendations from a coroner with the utmost seriousness.”
Health Minister Rachel Stephen Smith also offered condolences this week and said staff involved in the incident were being supported.
Katrina said her family had received no direct correspondence from the government.
In the aftermath, they are left with the birthday presents Rozalia was too unwell to open, the day before her death.
“I have to live with this and I’m not getting any support. I didn’t receive a phone call,” she said.
An investigation by the ACT Coroner has been launched.
