SAN DIEGO: Multiple people on board a private plane that crashed into a San Diego military housing neighbourhood early on Thursday (May 22) are dead but no one on the ground was injured, authorities said.
The plane could hold eight to 10 people but it’s not yet known how many were on board, Assistant San Diego Fire Chief Dan Eddy said at a news conference. Authorities will be investigating whether the plane hit a power line, he said.
The plane crashed just before 4am into the US military’s largest housing neighbourhood, appearing to strike at least one home that had a charred and collapsed roof and smashing through half a dozen vehicles. About 10 homes suffered damage but no one inside the homes needed transport to the hospital, authorities said.
San Diego officials haven’t released details about the plane but said it was a flight 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 3.47am from the small Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas.
The smell of jet fuel lingered in the air hours after the crash while authorities worked to put out one stubborn car fire. They described a frightening scene in the aftermath of the crash.
“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.
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.
