As Debbie Gantt was driving up Storke Road to get on Highway 101 on Wednesday, headed to Trader Joe’s to pick up a few items, she saw a small airplane flying very low.

The single-engine aircraft was in a steep bank, Gantt said, with its wings almost vertical to the ground.

“Then I saw the parachute go out, and that’s when I realized it was going to crash,” she told Noozhawk on Friday.

The aircraft dropped out of sight before she made it to the freeway.

However, as she headed down the onramp, which spans the distance between Storke and Los Carneros roads, she saw that the Cirrus SR22T had gone down in a grassy field on the Bishop Ranch property, on the north side of the freeway.

She pulled over at the base of the Los Carneros offramp, figuring to call 911, but another motorist already was doing so.

So, using her phone, she took photos of the downed aircraft.

“I got a picture before it caught fire,” the Goleta resident said, then moments later watched as the plane burst into flames, which spread to the nearby vegetation.

“Then I saw a man crawling, trying to get away,” she added.

She heard an explosion, and noting that emergency personnel already were on the scene, decided it was time to get away.

“I was in shock for several hours afterward,” said Gantt, who grew up in Goleta and works in retail. “My adrenaline was really pumping. I walked around Trader Joe’s like 10 times trying to remember what I came for.”

Officer Pulled Pilot Away From Burning Aircraft

CHP Officer Ricardo Ayala was in the process of citing a motorist for a traffic infraction on Los Carneros Road in Goleta when an explosion rocked the air.

“Startled, he looked up to see an aircraft’s ballistic recovery system deployed,” said Officer Jonathan Gutierrez, who recounted his colleague’s experience.

“He observed the plane’s deployed parachute.”

The four-seat aircraft had crashed just north of Highway 101 between Los Carneros and Glen Annie roads.

Ayala let the motorist off with a warning and rushed up the freeway toward the scene. He could see the plane, which was nose down, bent in half and engulfed in flames.

“He spotted movement and observed the severely injured pilot crawling out of the aircraft,” Gutierrez said. “The fire was spreading rapidly and threatening to consume the wreckage entirely.”

Ayala sprung into action, clambering over a chain-link fence and racing up the hill toward the burning wreckage and imperiled male pilot.

“He grabbed the pilot’s arms and pulled with all his strength, dragging the injured pilot away from the growing flames,” Gutierrez said.

Just as they stumbled a few yards to safety, a second explosion erupted behind them.

Meanwhile, a female occupant of the plane had managed to get herself out of the wreckage and was helped to safety by a civilian bystander.

Both victims — a 29-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman — suffered major injuries and were taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital.

Their names have not been released by authorities, and details on their conditions were not available.

“Thanks to Officer Ayala’s quick thinking and bravery, a tragedy was averted,” Gutierrez said. “His heroic actions were a testament to his unwavering dedication to public safety service and to those who risk their lives to save others.

“A special thank you to the civilians who assisted with the plane’s passenger.”

Cirrus Planes Equipped with Parachute Systems

Cirrus aircraft are somewhat unique in that they are equipped with a rocket-propelled parachute system that can be deployed from the fuselage in an emergency.

The system is designed to protect passengers, not prevent damage to the plane, and can lower the plane to the ground. 

When activated, a solid rocket accelerates, pulling the parachute out of its housing and inflating the canopy. When it functions as intended, it stabilizes the aircraft under the canopy and descends at speed of 10 to 20 mph, depending on the circumstances.

Plane Registered to Los Angeles Corporation

The aircraft involved — with the tail number N124LZ — is registered to an entity called Lima Zulu Aircraft Corp. in Los Angeles.

It’s been reported that movie producer and director Robert Zemeckis, a Montecito resident, is associated with the company, although that could not be confirmed.

Zemeckis is an instrument-rated private pilot who is known to have flown many hours in a Cirrus SR22.

A spokeswoman for Zemeckis reportedly told other media that two professional pilots were at the controls of the plane when it crashed.

Track of Plane Before the Crash

Records from the Flightradar24 website show that the aircraft took off from the Santa Barbara Airport at 1:44 p.m. and flew up the coast almost to Gaviota, reaching a maximum elevation of 3,300 feet.

The aircraft then doubled back toward the airport, and made a touch-and-go landing on Runway 15 Right at 2:11 p.m. The plane flew south over the ocean before making a hard-right turn and heading north toward the mountains.

It reached a maximum altitude of 825 feet before plummeting to the ground at 2:16 p.m.

An audio recording of radio communication between the woman in the plane and an air traffic controller — posted on LiveATC.net — indicates normal interactions until the controller receives no response from the plane.

The controller then notes a large column of black smoke north of the freeway, and indicates he saw a parachute deploy.