A small plane crashes in the San Diego military neighborhood
A small plane crashed in a San Diego neighborhood, killing multiple passengers and burning dozens of homes.
SAN DIEGO – At least two people were killed and eight others were injured when a small plane crashed in Southern California, and more than a dozen homes and vehicles were hit in a military residential area, authorities said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement that it crashed near San Diego’s executive airport around 3:45am on May 22nd. Six people were on the plane at the time of the incident.
Elliot Simpson, a senior aviation accident investigator at the National Transportation Safety Board, said on May 21, the plane departed from Teterboro, New Jersey, and flew to Wichita, Kansas. Simpson said the plane stopped fuel in Wichita.
“The (plane) struck an electric wire about two miles southeast of the airport and then collided with the house,” Simpson said at a press conference, adding that NTSB investigators will investigate the incident.
The morning crash sparked several homes and splashed jet fuel along the streets of Tierra Santa, located about 10 miles northeast of downtown San Diego. There is a large military community in the neighborhood.
At another press conference, local officials said it was surprising that the loss of life wasn’t that great. San Diego fire rescue assistant Dan Eddie said two people were killed in a crash.
The condition of the other four on the plane was not immediately known.
No deaths have been reported among people on the ground, but some suffered minor injuries, including inhaling smoke, Eddie said. About 100 people evacuated from their neighboring homes.
“It’s a bit miracle that they left,” Eddie said.
The FAA and NTSB are investigating crashes. USA Today has contacted NTSB for comment
Report: Music agency says an employee died of crash
Music Agency Sound Talent Group said three employees, including co-founder Dave Shapiro, died on the Associated Press, as reported by Associated Press, NBC News and Billboard. The agency did not identify the other two employees who died.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founders, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go to our families and everyone affected by today’s tragedy,” the agency said in a statement to the media outlet.
Citing FAA records, the AP reported that Shapiro was listed as the owner of the plane involved in the crash and has a pilot license. Shapiro’s LinkedIn page also showed his pilot license, indicating that he owned a flight school called Velocity Aviation.
Founded in 2018, Sound Talent Group is an independent music agency, according to its website. The agency represents more than 400 artists and has offices in New York City, Nashville and San Diego.
The agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment on USA Today on May 22nd.
Sofia Luis Gonzalez was visiting the Orange County family when her husband called her from Florida. He was awake to the alert on the ring camera at his home – the neighbor rings the doorbell and screams, “Your home is on fire.”
Luis Gonzalez, who lives a downhill block from where the plane crashed, said he described the river of fire, where neighbors ran down the ditch in the street and set up the car after burning it. Fuel from the plane spreads the impact of the collision into this close military neighborhood.
“It melted our gates because the sides of our house were on fire,” said Luis Gonzalez. “The fuel just ran down the street.”
The crash site itself still smelled stimulating smoke by noon, with a crowd of about 40 film crews gathering around the burnt ruins of the house and several cars. Representatives from the San Diego Fire Department, San Diego Police Department, and the military said they evacuated the scene, put out the fires and evacuated the home.
According to the FAA, the Cessna 550 dropped around 3:45am local time. The first call came at 3:47am, Eddie said.
According to Eddie, the route originated in the Midwest, but was tied towards San Diego. The plane crashed from Santo Road near Sculpin Street, San Diego Police Station, posted on X.
The area is located near Montgomery Gibbs’ executive airport, and the area where the crash occurred is managed by Liberty Army housing, officials confirmed.
Eddie noted that there was a thick fog in the area as responders arrived on the scene. At least one home was fully involved, he added, and firefighters went to the house and made sure everyone left before paying attention to the car that caused the fire.
San Diego police said in a social media update that one person was hospitalized and two others were treated and released.
Eddie said several homes hit the plane directly, and the collision set fire to around 15 homes, as well as multiple vehicles. There is a large field of debris for investigators to work, and neighboring families may “have been out of their home for a while.”
“I just walked it myself, heading down the street itself and it looks like something from the movie,” Eddie told reporters. He said the Hazmat team also responded.
“There’s jet fuel everywhere,” Eddie said. “And we wanted more resources to do that.”
Eddie said multiple crews were expected to remain on the scene and be in the area 24 hours a day. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wall said more than 50 officers responded to the scene, evacuating homes, closing streets and searching for survivors.
“I can’t explain what this scene looks like.
San Diego Naval Base Commander Bob Healy said the neighborhood is one of the largest military housing bases in the world. Healy said he is working with Free Army housing and the Red Cross to provide temporary housing for affected families.
“We are actively working with all the military families affected, especially within the area, as they may have been out of their homes for a while,” Healy said.
Schools are closed due to crash on Tierra Santa plane
San Diego Unified School Police confirmed that Hancock Elementary School and Miller Elementary School had been closed at the time. The Miller is where authorities established evacuation sites for families whose homes were damaged or destroyed.
Both schools are less than a mile from where they crashed.
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
Contribution: Reuters
