- A private plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, killing multiple people.
- The crash impacted around 15 houses, causing multiple homes and cars to catch on fire.
- All of the fatalities were on board the plane, but it is unknown how many people were on the plane.
A private jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood that houses military families early Thursday morning, killing multiple people.
During a press conference, San Diego Fire Assistant Chief Dan Eddy said the plane hit around 15 homes, causing multiple houses and cars to catch fire.
“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,” Scott Wahl, San Diego’s police chief, said during the press conference, per CNN.
At least one person died in the crash, but Eddy said that all of the fatalities were on the plane. It is unclear how many people were on the plane when it crashed, but it could have sat eight to 10 people.
“We do believe we have multiple fatalities, but we’re going to have to go through and take our time and ensure that’s exactly what we have,” Eddy said, according to NBC.
What do we know about the plane that crashed?
According to CNN, the plane was a Cessna 550 private jet that crashed around 3:45 a.m. near Montgomery Executive Airport.
The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Eddy said that it was very foggy at the time of the crash, according to CNN. “You could barely see in front of you,” he said.
The plane took off late Wednesday night from Teterboro Airport, just outside of New York City. It made a stop for about an hour in Wichita, Kansas, before flying to San Diego.
When the pilot announced that the plane was 3 miles away from its planned landing at the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, there was no sign of any problems and no emergency was declared, per CNN.
The plane was built in 1985 and is owned by a company in Alaska.
Where did the plane crash?
The neighborhood where the plane crashed is “one of the largest military housing units in the world,” said Capt. Robert Heely, commanding officer of Naval Base San Diego, per CNN. The crash was near Sculpin Street and Santo Road in San Diego.
There were no fatalities in the homes that the plane impacted but there were a few minor injuries.
“The good thing that we have was we have not transported anybody off scene from any of these areas here right now,” Eddy said, per NBC. “And we’re searching through to make sure that nobody’s in any of those homes.”
Multiple neighborhoods in the area were evacuated, partially because of fuel spills caused by the crash. Two local elementary schools have also been closed for the day.