Officers pull man from his crashed airplane mere seconds before a train barrels into it

A pilot who survived a plane crash was pulled from the aircraft seconds before a train smashed into it.
It's like watching a scene from an action film, only it's real.
A pilot flying a Cessna 172 aircraft lost power and crashed shortly after takeoff from Whiteman Airport in California's San Fernando Valley on Sunday, according to the Associated Press. The FAA clocked the crash as occurring at approximately 2:10 p.m., with the plane coming to a stop at a railroad crossing just blocks from the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothills Division station, about 20 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Officers arrived at the scene, and at 2:15 p.m.—just five minutes after the plane crash-landed—a train barreled into the airplane, smashing it to pieces. Thankfully, four officers on the scene were able to extricate the pilot from the aircraft, literally seconds before the Metrolink train slammed into it. Video of the rescue was captured on bodycam and by a bystander from distance, and it's just about the most harrowing real-life footage imaginable.
Watch the cell phone video from a somewhat safe distance (the person filming was nearly hit with flying pieces of airplane when the train hit). The group of people moving away from the tracks just before impact are the officers carrying the pilot.
Frightening cell phone video of first responders pulling a pilot to safety seconds before a train slams into the plane that crashed onto the tracks near Whiteman Airport in Pacoima. @CBSLA #BreakingNow #news #crash #kcal Luis Jimenez https://www.luisjimenezmusic.com\u00a0 @composerluispic.twitter.com/D4VhNPGYID— JASMINE VIEL (@JASMINE VIEL) 1641777634
Then watch the bodycam footage from one of the officers involved in the rescue. (There is no audio for the first 10 seconds, FYI.) Utterly terrifying.
Foothill Division Officers displayed heroism and quick action by saving the life of a pilot who made an emergency landing on the railroad tracks at San Fernando Rd. and Osborne St., just before an oncoming train collided with the aircraft.pic.twitter.com/DDxtGGIIMo— LAPD HQ (@LAPD HQ) 1641781121
CBSN Los Angeles identified the four officers at the scene as Damien Castro, Christopher Aboyte, Robert Sherock and Sgt. Joseph Cavestany.
“I had requested Metrolink to cease all train activity," Cavestany told the station, "but apparently that didn’t happen."
The Los Angeles Fire Department said that the pilot was the only person on board. According to the Los Angeles Times, the pilot was in stable condition as of 8:00 p.m. Sunday evening. No other injuries were reported.
“Seeing what happened, I’m grateful to be alive. I’m grateful the pilot survived as well,” Sherock said, according to the AP.
It's not every day that you see someone dramatically escape death not once, but twice, within minutes. Especially in such a close call. Best wishes to the pilot, and kudos to the four LAPD officers for their quick thinking and quick-moving heroism.
Phew.
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."