 "Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday. AP")
Multiple people were killed when a business jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood home to military families amid dense fog early Thursday, according to a CNN report, citing authorities.
While the exact number of people on board remains unclear, all known fatalities appear to be from the aircraft, CNN quoted San Diego Fire Assistant Chief Dan Eddy as saying at a press conference.
Several homes and cars were also set on fire, forcing families to evacuate along several blocks, added the report.
According to the report, citing a spokesman for San Diego Fire, a Cessna 550 airplane, often called a Citation, “crashed near Montgomery Executive Airport around 3:45 am” Thursday.
“We have jet fuel all over the place,” CNN quoted Eddy as saying during a news conference.
“Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now,” he added.
He said “there is a direct hit to multiple homes” in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood.
“I can’t quite put words to describe what this scene looked like but with the jet fuel running down the streets and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see,” CNN quoted Scott Wahl, San Diego Police Chief, as saying during the press conference.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the crash.
“The number of people on board is unknown at this time,” CNN quoted the FAA as saying in a statement.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsEddy, a witness, described heavy fog when the private jet went down. “You could barely see in front of you,” he told CNN.
Flight tracking site FlightAware reported that the Citation jet departed Teterboro Airport near New York City late Wednesday night. It made a brief stop in Wichita, Kansas, for about an hour before continuing on to San Diego.
According to a recording from LiveATC.net, the pilot radioed that the aircraft was three miles out from a planned landing on runway 28 at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
There were no indications of any issues, and no emergency was declared.
Although the airport has a control tower, it is unstaffed during overnight hours. Pilots instead use a “common traffic advisory frequency” to communicate their intentions with other nearby aircraft.
FAA records show the Citation jet is owned by a company based in Alaska and was manufactured in 1985.
With inputs from agencies