Plane crash in San Diego: Several passengers dead; homes and vehicles set on fire

A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighbourhood during foggy weather early on Thursday, 22 May, setting about 15 homes on fire as well as vehicles, and forcing evacuations along several blocks, authorities said.

“We have jet fuel all over the place,” assistant fire department chief Dan Eddy had said during a news conference soon after the incident. “Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now."

He said “there is a direct hit to multiple homes" in the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood and described “a gigantic debris field" in an area of densely populated homes and sweeping canyon views.

Multiple people on board the private plane are dead, the authorities said. No one on the ground was injured.

Eddy had said during the news conference that the fire department would be investigating whether the plane hit a power line.

“When it hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,” Eddy said. “You can see that every single car was burning down both sides of the street.”

San Diego officials said the flight was coming in from the Midwest.

The flight tracking site Flight Aware lists a Cessna Citation II jet that was scheduled to arrive at the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport in San Diego at 3:47 a.m. from the small Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas.

The early morning scene was anxious.

On the street, one home's roof was blackened and collapsed, with a piece of white metal sitting on the street in front. Half a dozen fully charred cars sat on the street and tree limbs, glass and pieces of white and blue metal were scattered on the road. At the end of the street, black smoke billowed as the site continued to burn.

Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang and saw smoke when they looked out the window.

They grabbed their two young children and ran out of the house. On their way out of the neighbourhood, they saw a car engulfed in flames.

“It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you've just got to drop your head and get to safety,” he said.

Police rescued three husky puppies from one of the homes and rolled them away from the crash scene in a wagon. A few blocks away, families —including Moore's — stood in their pajamas in a parking lot waiting for word of when they could return to their homes.

Many military service members live in the neighbourhood, which is made up of single family homes and townhomes. It also is heavily populated by small civilian and military aircraft. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport and Gillespie Field are nearby.

Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. “You could barely see in front of you," he said.

The Cessna 550 aircraft crashed at about 3:45 am near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said. That size of plane can typically carry around 8 to 10 people.

Among those dead were three employees of music agency Sound Talent Group, including co-founder Dave Shapiro — who is listed as the owner of the plane and had a pilot's licence himself. 

Shapiro also owned a flight school called Velocity Aviation and a record label, Velocity Records, according to his LinkedIn page.

The agency didn't share the names of the other two employees who died.

“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today's tragedy,” the agency said in a statement.

Sound Talent Group has represented artists including Hanson, Sum 41 and Vanessa Carlton.

Among those killed is also, reportedly, Daniel Williams — formerly the drummer for The Devil Wears Prada metal band, one of its original members. He had posted on Instagram that he was flying with Dave Shapiro of Velocity just before they set out.

The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation. The full report on how many people had died was not yet available.

On the ground, while there were no deaths, several people were injured while trying to flee as the flames raced down a single street after the crash just before 4 a.m. in the Murphy Canyon, the largest neighbourhood of Navy-owned housing in the country. Others were treated for smoke inhalation, authorities said.

Neighborhood hit hard

At least one home was destroyed with its front heavily burned and its roof partially collapsed. About 10 others suffered damage at the site where half a dozen vehicles were melted and scorched into burned shells.

Ariya Waterworth said she woke up to a “whooshing sound” and then saw a giant fireball outside. She screamed for help as firefighters arrived and helped her get out with her two children and their family dog.

One of the family's cars was “completely disintegrated” and the other had extensive damage. Her yard was littered with plane parts, broken glass and debris.

“I definitely do feel blessed because we've been spared,” she said.

San Diego police officer Anthony Carrasco said five people from a single family were taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation after evacuating to a nearby school. Another person was treated at a hospital for injuries sustained while climbing out of a window trying to flee. Two others were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

At least 100 residents were evacuated, police said, with surrounding blocks cordoned off with yellow police tape and checkpoints. Jet fuel rolled down Salmon Street hours after the crash. The smell of fuel lingered in the air while authorities worked to extinguish one stubborn car fire that sent smoke billowing up.

“I can't quite put words to describe what the scene looks like, but with the jet fuel going down the street, and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see,” San Diego police chief Scott Wahl said.

But what really happened?

The flight originated from a small New Jersey airport,

While FlightAware listed a Cessna Citation II jet for arrival at the Montgomery-Gibbs executive airport in San Diego at 3:47 a.m. from the small Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas, this was not its origin.

Officials at the Kansas airport said the plane made a fuelling stop in Wichita. The flight, according to FlightAware, originated Wednesday night, 21 May, in Teterboro, New Jersey, about 6 miles (10 km) from Manhattan — an airfield frequently used by private and corporate jets.

Audio recorded by www.liveATC.net includes a brief transmission from the pilot calling out that he was on final approach to the Montgomery-Gibbs airport and was about three miles out at 3:45 a.m.

The plane is owned by Daviation LLC, based in Alaska, and its owner Dave Shapiro held a pilot's licence per Federal Aviation Administration records. Public records show the music agency co-founder also had at least one address in San Diego himself.

As Eddy said, it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. “You could barely see in front of you," he said.

Officials were looking into whether the plane had clipped a power line before crashing into the neighbourhood, which that is only about 2 miles (3 km) from the Montgomery-Gibbs airport.

At that hour and in foggy weather, the plane was likely operating on an instrument flight rules plan, which is typically used during reduced visibility, said Barry Newman, a board-certified aviation attorney.

However, for that airport, once the aircraft reaches 673 feet (205 meters), the pilot also has to rely on his sight.

“If a pilot descends to that level and he can't see the runway, he has to call for a missed approach or divert to another airport,” Newman said.

Reports do suggest that the pilot mentioned his discomfort with the weather to air traffic control just before the crash.

This keeps happening...

City Council member Raoul Castillo said residents told him dramatic stories “about military families helping military families out of their homes, jumping out of windows and avoiding fire.”

But this was hardly a first for such an accident to happen.

In October 2021, a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb, killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes. It was preparing to land at the airport.

In December 2008, a Marine Corps fighter jet slammed into a house in San Diego's University City neighbourhood, causing an explosion that killed four people inside. The Marine Corps blamed the crash on mechanical failure and human error.

Based on AP/PTI inputs