Two people survived a crash landing when their plane went down and overturned in a field near the 405 Freeway in Van Nuys Thursday morning.

Two people, later identified as a man and a woman, safely exited the aircraft after the 1968 Cessna crashed near the 15300 block of West Burbank Boulevard around 7 a.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department stated in a news alert.

Both patients appeared to be okay and declined transport to a hospital, the alert stated.

The plane went down in the Sepulveda Basin area about three miles south of Van Nuys Airport after losing communication with the tower.

The National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the circumstances around the incident.

Check back for updates on this developing story.

A 49-year-old man has been identified in a trio of attempted carjackings targeting women in several East Los Angeles neighborhoods, police announced Wednesday.  

The terrifying Nov. 9 incidents, some of which were caught on surveillance cameras, show the suspect, now identified by police as Maurice Latorre, violently attacking the unsuspecting victims.  

The first attempt, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release, occurred at around 10:40 a.m. at a gas station in the 3200 block of North Broadway.  

The 49-year-old was seen approaching a woman as she gassed up her car. The victim was able to get into her car and close her door, but Latorre opened the door and forced his way into the vehicle, attempting to push the woman toward the backseat as he demanded her keys.  

“A brief struggle ensued, and the victim was able to get the suspect out of her vehicle,” police said. “The suspect then fled on foot.”  

A few hours later, just before 2 p.m. in the 2100 block of North Broadway in Lincoln Heights, the hooded 49-year-old is seen on surveillance cameras approaching the driver of a red-colored SUV as a woman on the passenger side was putting her children in the back of the vehicle. 

Latorre, according to police, demanded the keys, but the woman was able to drive away as the 49-year-old casually strolled off.  

The suspect struck again three hours later, just before 5 p.m., at a gas station in the 2900 block of East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue in Boyle Heights.  

Latorre tried to get the woman out of the driver seat, but she fought back even as she was pulled from the vehicle, and they went to the ground. Police said a passerby pulled the 49-year-old off the woman. The suspect then fled on a silver-colored bike.  

“Anything can happen. This world is changing every day,” Boyle Heights resident Cecilia Castillo told KTLA’s Carlos Saucedo.  

Castillo comes to the Arco gas station where the third attempted carjacking occurred regularly and at night.  

“I pump gas at night, and I work nightshift, so yeah, scary,” she said of the incidents.  

Boyle Heights resident Danny Diaz told KTLA that if people see something like that, they should prevent it. The incidents hit close to home for him since he says something similar happened to his partner last month.  

“It happened to my fiancée not too long ago, too,” he explained. “Some guy tried to break in and take the car while she was pumping gas with my son inside. That’s scary for us because imagine they take the car with the kids inside and you go crazy.”  

Police described Latorre as 5 feet 9 inches tall, weighing around 180 pounds with black hair and eyes.  

The public is urged to practice caution if they spot Latorre as he is considered violent and dangerous, police said. Instead, they should call 911 immediately.  

A 32-year-old Orange County man is facing possible hate crime charges after he reportedly grabbed a woman by the buttocks with both hands inside of a store and made a comment about her ethnicity.  

The Nov. 8 incident, according to a news release from the Westminster Police Department, occurred at around 7:45 a.m. at a retail outlet in the 13500 block of Beach Boulevard.  

Police said the victim, a 43-year-old Garden Grove woman, entered the store and walked into the laundry aisle. She told investigators that when she bent down, the suspect, now identified as Westminster resident Aaron Navies, assaulted her.  

“The victim alleged when she reached down to pick up an item, the arrestee without provocation and against her will grabbed her buttocks with both hands,” the release stated. “The victim immediately stood up, threw an item at Navies and backed away. Navies told the victim, ‘You don’t have rights because you’re Mexican and I can do what I want to.’”  

Authorities added that when the woman, disgusted, began speaking Spanish, Navies “stuck his tongue out and moved it up and down in what she perceived as sexual in nature.”  

The Garden Grove woman immediately called police, who located him inside the store and detained him without incident.  

After collecting evidence and speaking to both parties, authorities confirmed that the victim wanted to press charges and arrested Navies for a hate crime and sexual battery.  

“The Westminster Police Department does not tolerate hate crimes,” the release noted. “If you or someone you know believe you may be the victim of a hate crime, please contact your local law enforcement agency for resources and assistance.”

While authorities said this appears to be an isolated incident, anyone with information about the investigation is urged to contact Westminster PD investigators at 714-898-3315. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous can call the Orange County Crime Stoppers Hotline at 855-TIP-OCCS or leave tips online at www.occrimestoppers.org.