The first man on the scene who helped pull the pilot out of a burning, crashed plane at 91原创 Regional Airport said he and other rescuers were just in the right place at the right time.

Kirk Wood was driving south on 216th Street on Tuesday, May 2, when he saw a plane coming in for a landing.

鈥淭hey were coming in low across the field,鈥� Wood said.

It became clear the plane was too low. He saw debris spray up as it smashed into the roof of a pickup truck driving several cars ahead of him.

Wood said the plane then barely cleared the ditch between 216th and the airport property. It plowed through the fence, and came to rest askew against a grassy berm.

鈥淎 fire started pretty quick,鈥� Wood said.

He pulled over to the side of the road and turned on his emergency flashers, crossed the ditch, and headed in to help.

A former firefighter when he lived in the United States, Wood said he tried to open the pilot鈥檚 door but it was jammed.

The pilot鈥檚 passenger, a woman, was getting out on her own, but the pilot, an elderly man, couldn鈥檛 get out on his own.

鈥淗e was clearly injured,鈥� said Wood.

READ MORE: Plane slams into pickup, crashes at 91原创 Airport

Another man arrived then, and he and Wood together pulled him out of the plane.

Along with other passerby and airport workers, they got the two passengers away from the burning wreckage.

Wood didn鈥檛 get the name of most of the other rescuers, but he said one of them was a nurse, and another man gave up his shirt to act as a bandage for the head of the battered pilot.

He said the rescue wasn鈥檛 so much a matter of firefighter training, just being able to help in the moment. Wood said he lives by the mantra that 鈥渆very encounter is an opportunity to be positive or helpful, or not.鈥�

鈥淪everal of us jut happened to be in the right place at the right time,鈥� he said.

The pilot and passenger have been in touch with him since the incident, Wood said, and they plan to get together once the pilot鈥檚 injuries are healed up a little more.

鈥淲e鈥檝e talked a couple times,鈥� Wood said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e both doing well.鈥�