Multiple people on private plane that crashed into San Diego neighborhood are dead, authorities say

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A private jet crashed into military housing in San Diego during foggy weather early Thursday, igniting cars parked along a suburban neighborhood block and killing multiple people on board the plane, 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 will be investigating whether the plane hit a power line, he said.

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.

“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.

Chunks of metal from the aircraft littered the street, but no discernible body of the plane could be seen. Half a dozen fully charred cars sat on the street, and tree limbs, melted trash cans, glass and pieces of white and blue metal were scattered around. At the end of the block, black smoke billowed as a car continued to smolder while water mixed with jet fuel flowed down the street.

Wahl said more than 50 police officers were on the scene within minutes and began evacuating homes. At least 100 residents were displaced to an evacuation center at a nearby elementary school.

Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang. He saw smoke out the window.

They grabbed their three young boys 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 officers were rescuing multiple animals, including three husky puppies that were rolled 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 could return to their homes.

Ariya Waterworth, who lives across the street from the crash site, said she woke up to a “whooshing sound” and then saw a giant fireball outside. Firefighters were on the scene quickly and she screamed for help, evacuating her dog and two kids. One of the family’s cars was “completely disintegrated,” and the other had extensive damage. Her yard was littered with plane parts, broken glass and debris. Despite the destruction, Waterworth said she feels lucky to be alive.

“I definitely do feel blessed because we’ve been spared,” she said.

The neighborhood is made up of single-family homes and townhomes. Montgomery-Gibbs airport is about 2 miles (3 kilometers) away.

Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. “You could barely see in front of you,” he said. Officials were looking into whether the plane clipped a power line before crashing into the neighborhood on land owned by the U.S. Navy.

The Federal Aviation Administration 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 U.S. 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.

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Associated Press journalists Javier Arciga in San Diego; Christopher Weber in Los Angeles; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; and Josh Funk in Omaha, Nebraska, contributed to this report.