A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer is being hailed as a hero after rescuing a pilot just moments before a small aircraft was engulfed in flames following a crash near U.S. 101 on Jan. 29, authorities said.
Officer Ayala—no first name was provided—was conducting a routine traffic stop on Los Carneros Road, north of U.S. 101 in Santa Barbara County, when he spotted a deployed aircraft parachute and heard an explosion, the CHP said in a Jan. 30 social media post.
CHP had not responded to a request for more information as of publication time.
Seeing the downed plane in an empty field, he immediately abandoned the stop and rushed toward the crash site, according to the agency….