***Update:
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two people died and multiple others were injured when a private jet crashed into military housing in San Diego during foggy weather early Thursday, igniting cars parked along a suburban neighborhood block, authorities said.
The plane could hold eight to 10 people but it's not yet known how many were on the aircraft, Assistant San Diego Fire Chief Dan Eddy said at a news conference. Authorities couldn't say definitively if both of the dead were on the plane.
The aircraft crashed just before 4 a.m. into the U.S. military's largest housing neighborhood. It appeared to strike at least one home that had a charred and collapsed roof and smash through half a dozen vehicles. About 10 homes suffered damage.
Authorities initially said no one was transported by emergency crews from the military housing. But after a morning news conference, San Diego police officer Anthony Carrasco said five people from a single family were hospitalized for smoke inhalation. 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, Carrasco said.
San Diego officials haven’t released details about the plane but said it was a flight from the Midwest. The flight tracking site FlightAware lists a Cessna Citation II jet 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. Officials at the Kansas airport said it made a fueling stop in Wichita. The flight originated Wednesday night in Teterboro, New Jersey, according to FlightAware.
The airport in Teterboro is about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from Manhattan and is frequently used by private and corporate jets.
In the San Diego neighborhood, the smell of jet fuel lingered in the air hours after the crash while authorities worked to extinguish one stubborn car fire. They described a frightening scene in the aftermath of the crash.
(earlier)
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Multiple people on board a private plane that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday are dead, authorities said.
Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said during a news conference that they will be investigating whether the plane hit a power line. No one on the ground was injured, he said.
“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.”
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
SAN DIEGO (AP) — A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood during foggy weather early Thursday, 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 said during a news conference. “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 neighborhood and described “a gigantic debris field" in an area of densely populated homes and sweeping canyon views.
It was not known if there were any deaths or injuries.
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 neighborhood 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 can return to their homes.
Many military service members live in the neighborhood, 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 a.m. near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The number of people on board is unknown at this time,” the FAA said in a statement.
The plane can carry six to eight people.
The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.
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 neighborhood, causing an explosion that killed four people inside. The Marine Corps blamed the crash on mechanical failure and human error.