Vintage plane crash-lands on California freeway, no injuries

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

The Los Angeles County Fire Department 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.

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

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

He said "the pilot did a great job getting it down and not hitting any cars."

Rushing says the pilot, whose name wasn’t immediately released and flies professionally for Alaska Airlines, was out on a training exercise. He didn't know what caused the crash.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer says his department and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.