Plane crashes on a freeway in Southern California

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.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says the pilot declared an emergency Friday morning shortly after taking off from John Wayne Airport in Costa Mesa.

He says the pilot was trying to return to the airport when the plane fell from the sky and crashed on Interstate 405.

Video posted on social media showed the plane completely engulfed in flames and strewn across several lanes of the freeway.

Traffic was backed up for several miles as firefighters worked to battle the blaze.

Orange County Fire Capt. Larry Kurtz says the two people who were aboard the plane suffered traumatic injuries.