Mark
Jenkins, the 70-year-old pilot who crashed his airplane moments before a train
collision in Los Angeles, has left the world dazed and confused. 

A
disturbing video footage released by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) on
Twitter shows Jenkins being dragged out of his damaged aircraft on a train
track moments before a train rammed it.

The
footage was captured via a body camera on one of the police officers’ uniforms.
Jenkins was pulled out of the cockpit by a group of Foothill Division officers.

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Jenkins
had bought the small aircraft with his son and step-son-in-law Dan Mortensen two decades ago, Mortensen revealed in an NBC report.
Furthermore, Jenkins had previously served in the US Air Force as a fighter
pilot. 

Mortensen shared that his father-in-law probably decided to emergency land on rail tracks
to save lives on the ground. 

He added, “What went through my head all night
last night was what if they couldn’t cut through the seat belt in time or
couldn’t get the door open because it was jammed from the impact. All it
could’ve taken is another two seconds and at least he would have been killed,
probably with certainty, I think.”

“He cheated death twice in two minutes.” 

Jenkins’
family stated that the former fighter pilot is an experienced aviation expert
and landing on the rail tracks was classic textbook training. Though, Mortenson
added that Jenkins failed to take the approaching train into consideration
during his calculated emergency landing.

In
the video posted by LAPD, one of the cops is seen yelling “go, go, go”, seconds
before a train crashes through the vacated aircraft.

Moments after being posted on Twitter, the sensitive video footage has garnered over 3.4 million views with 40,000 likes and more than 10,000 retweets.

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According
to a report by National Public Radio, a media organisation located in Washington D.C., the accident took place in
the Pacoima neighbourhood of Los Angeles, California. The aircraft had crashed
on the railway tracks that run parallel to the runway at Whiteman Airport.

According
to the LAPD Operations-Valley Bureau, the airplane crashed because it had “lost
power”.

Jenkins
was then immediately rushed to the hospital, with broken bones. The 70-year-old
is currently in a stable condition but might have to go through reconstructive
surgeries on his face.