Three people, including a child, sustained non-life-threatening injuries Saturday afternoon when a single-engine propeller plane crashed onto Capitol Expressway near Excalibur Drive in San Jose, California. Emergency crews responded to the scene shortly after 3 p.m., transporting all occupants to a hospital as a precaution.
Emergency Response on Capitol Expressway
The aircraft came down in a busy commercial and residential corridor of San Jose shortly after 3 p.m. on October 17, prompting an immediate deployment of firefighters and police to secure the roadway. Emergency personnel arrived to find the propeller-driven aircraft resting on the street near the intersection of Capitol Expressway and Excalibur Drive.
#SJFD is on scene of a plane crash in the area of Capitol Expressway and Excalibur Dr. Small prop plane down, no vehicles involved. Two adults and one child transported with non-life-threatening injuries out of an abundance of caution. Please avoid the area.⁰⁰TOC: 3:09pm pic.twitter.com/3GQMIdbrIQ
— https://x.com/SJFD/status/2111587603569152085
Two adults and one child were on board the plane when it descended. The San Jose Fire Department confirmed that all three occupants were taken to a hospital for evaluation and treatment. Authorities noted that their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Photographs from the roadway showed the mangled nose of the aircraft crushed against the pavement. The accident forced traffic restrictions in the area, including the temporary closure of the Alum Rock Avenue off-ramp from Highway 680 while crews managed the scene and towed the plane from the intersection.
The San Jose Police Department stated that no other individuals were injured in the incident. Furthermore, the San Jose Police Department reported that neither drugs nor alcohol appeared to be contributing factors in the crash.
Aircraft Registration and Flight Club Ties
Federal Aviation Administration records indicate that the aircraft involved in the Saturday afternoon incident is a 1968 Cessna 177A Cardinal
. Tail number registration data connects the plane to Flying Twenty Inc., which operates as a nonprofit flight club serving students, alumni, and faculty of San Jose State University.
The flight club bases its operations out of Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose. The expressway crash marked the second aviation incident in the city within a 24-hour window, following an emergency landing at the airport just a day earlier.
Unresolved Questions and Investigation Status
Investigators have not yet established what caused the Cessna to descend onto the public roadway. The impact generated a minor fuel spill on the street, which emergency responders contained and absorbed.
The Saturday accident followed a separate incident on Friday evening at Reid-Hillview Airport, where a small plane
A small plane crash landed due to faulty landing gear. The two individuals onboard were uninjured and able to get out of the plane on their own. The crash did not result in any fuel spill.
San Jose Fire Department, X statement
That preceding Friday evening occurrence happened around 6:25 p.m. at 2500 Cunningham Ave., according to the San Jose Fire Department. In that instance, the two people on board avoided injury entirely and exited the aircraft unassisted.
Federal and local authorities continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the Capitol Expressway crash. Officials have not released a timeline for concluding the investigation or determining the precise mechanical or environmental factors that led to the emergency landing.