Highway Patrol Officer Rescues Pilot ‘Moments Before’ Plane Explodes Following Crash in Santa Barbara: ‘Lives Were Saved’

An officer is being hailed as a hero after he rescued a pilot from a burning plane, which crashed into a field near a highway in Santa Barbara, Calif.

The small plane, a Cirrus SR22 that was carrying two people, crashed near the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport at around 2:15 p.m. local time on Wednesday, Jan. 29, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.

California Highway Patrol (CHP) shared on Facebook that one of its officers — identified as Officer Ayala — witnessed the plane crash while carrying out a “traffic stop” on Highway 101. CHP wrote that while the plane’s “parachute had deployed,” flames “quickly engulfed the wreckage.”

“Abandoning the stop, Officer Ayala raced to the scene, jumped a chain-link fence and found the injured pilot crawling from the burning aircraft,” CHP wrote. “As fire spread, he pulled the pilot to safety just moments before the plane exploded.”

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Alongside the post, CHP shared a video of the small plane on fire in the field, along with other photos shared on X by Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s office spokesperson Raquel Zick, showing firefighters extinguishing the fire and the large area that was burned after it was put out.

Zick shared in the post that the crash site was located “near” Highway 101 “between Los Carneros and Storke," and asked the public at the time to “please avoid the area and make way for equipment responding.”

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Authorities noted that the passenger of the airplane “managed to escape” and “two civilians” also assisted in getting both the pilot and passenger to safety. CHP said the pilot and passenger were “transported to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital for treatment.”

Zick shared in a separate post on X that two people onboard” the aircraft were “transported” to the hospital “with serious injuries.” She also said there were “no fatalities on scene."

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CHP praised Officer Ayala for his efforts in saving the pilot before the aircraft erupted in fire, writing that thanks to Ayala’s “bravery and quick action, lives were saved that day.”

“Great job, Officer Ayala!” CHP added. “Your courage exemplifies what it means to protect and serve your community.”

The FAA said it will investigate the incident.

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