Full Breakdown
Small Plane Nosedives onto San Jose’s Capitol Expressway, Leaving Three Injured
By Drooid · · How we work
The Saturday Crash on Capitol Expressway
On Saturday afternoon a 1968 Cessna 177A Cardinal carrying two adults and a child crashed at the intersection of Capitol Expressway and Excalibur Drive in San Jose. The aircraft struck the roadway nose-down, tail-up, blocking traffic and prompting a brief shutdown of the Alum Rock Avenue off-ramp from Highway 680. No vehicles or pedestrians were hit.
Immediate Response and Injuries
A small fuel spill was quickly absorbed, and crews cleared the wreckage after roughly three hours, hauling it away on a flatbed truck escorted by police.
Background of Off-Airport Incidents Near Reid-Hillview
The crash adds to a series of off-airport accidents linked to Reid-Hillview Airport in East San Jose. In 2002 a Piper PA-24-250 lost engine power and made an emergency street landing two miles from the airport, an event the National Transportation Safety Board attributed to inadequate flight planning. A 2017 Cessna 172P suffered partial engine loss after takeoff, striking a garage on Evelyn Avenue; the pilot incurred minor injuries while two passengers were seriously hurt. On June 29, a small experimental gyrocopter crashed just outside the airport near Eastridge Mall, leaving one occupant hospitalized with moderate injuries and the other with minor injuries.
Official Statements & Responses
The fire department’s X post stated that the crash resulted in “no life-threatening injuries,” that “no vehicles were involved,” and that the “fuel spill was absorbed.” The department emphasized that the incident underscores ongoing safety concerns for aircraft operating from Reid-Hillview Airport. No comment was obtained from Flying Twenty Inc., the nonprofit flight club that owns the aircraft.
Verbatim Quotes
- “It's a close call, it's a close call,” — Ricardo Barlaan, of San Jose
- “At first I thought it was some kind of stunt or they were making a movie or something.” — Joe Lopez
- “It's a good thing the navigator landed where he did,” — Joe Lopez