A small plane was trying to return to a Southern California airport after declaring an emergency when it crashed on a busy freeway, erupting into a ball of flames and smoke. The pilot of the plane declared a mayday and told an air traffic controller one engine had failed before the aircraft crashed on a Southern California freeway and burst into flames. The exchange was captured on a recording of air traffic controller communications, posted on the website LiveATC.net. Federal officials said the plane had declared an emergency shortly after taking off Friday morning from John Wayne Airport. He also told air traffic controllers, "I lost my right engine."

Source: New Zealand Herald June 30, 2017 21:11 UTC