The fiery crash of the Cessna Citation jet also injured eight people on the ground and damaged 10 homes in the Tierrasanta neighborhood.
By Talya Minsberg | Candice Reed | and Orlando Mayorquín
A small jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday morning, killing two people on board and damaging several homes, officials said.CreditCredit…Mike Blake/Reuters
A small jet flying through dense fog crashed into a residential San Diego neighborhood early Thursday morning, killing at least two people on board and injuring eight others on the ground, damaging 10 homes, and forcing the evacuation about 100 people, officials said.
The Cessna Citation jet crashed in Murphy Canyon near the Tierrasanta neighborhood just before 4 a.m., sending flames and smoke billowing, the San Diego Police Department and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said.
The people killed had been aboard the plane, Dan Eddy, San Diego’s assistant fire chief, said at a news conference. The number of people aboard has not been confirmed, but he said he did not believe there would be any survivors. The eight people injured were treated for smoke inhalation and injuries sustained from climbing out of a window.
When officials arrived at the crash site on Thursday morning, cars, lawns and several homes were on fire, and the time of the call — just before 4 in the morning — meant that many people were still asleep.
“I can’t quite put words to describe what the scene looked like with the jet fuel running down the streets and everything on fire all at once,” said Scott Wahl, the San Diego police chief. “It was pretty horrific to see.”
Officials did not immediately say what had caused the crash. There was a dense fog in the San Diego area in the early morning hours and Mr. Eddy confirmed that a main power line had been hit.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
As the plane was approaching Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, the pilot asked an air traffic controller how limited the visibility was there, according to an audio transmission.
An automated system that gives pilots updates on the weather was out of service at the airport at the time, which the pilot and controller discussed.
The air traffic controller told the pilot that the visibility was about a half-mile and the ceiling was about 200 feet for Miramar, Calif., which is about 10 miles north of where the crash happened.
“All right, that doesn’t sound great, but we’ll give it a go,” the pilot responded.
The residential neighborhood is home to many military families, according to Robert Heely, a commanding officer of Naval Base San Diego. Toys, bikes and garden beds litter the lawns. On Thursday, some strollers and patio furniture were singed or covered in soot.
Julie Marconi, a young mother of two, said that a neighbor came to wake her up about 15 minutes after the crash.
“My neighbor’s husband came over and helped me grab the kids and the diapers, and we just ran,” Ms. Marconi said as she stood behind the yellow tape on Santo Road, half a mile from the crash site. “We live one street over from Sculpin and I can’t believe that a plane crashed on a quiet little street. If it weren’t for my neighbors, I don’t know what I would do.”
Emergency responders were relieved to see that story played out across the neighborhood. Fast-acting families had jumped to action to wake up and help evacuate their neighbors. Remarkably, there were no serious injuries or deaths among those who live near the crash.
Cynthia Schmitz, 33, a resident of the Tierrasanta neighborhood, woke up to the crash.
“All we heard was the loud engine screeching noise, a loud boom — and the sky lit up,” she said. Ms. Schmitz, who is in the Navy, said she quickly realized that it had been a small plane crash.
“We see planes go over our house all the time,” she said, “so I figured that’s what it was.”
The 100 or so residents who were evacuated on Thursday morning have not yet been allowed back into their homes. Several blocks remain closed to traffic as debris is scattered on roofs, lawns and streets.
Burned cars littered the area, and firefighters were still struggling to extinguish a car on fire about four hours after the crash.
The plane had been attempting to land at the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, across a highway from where it crashed. It had departed from Teterboro, N.J., late Wednesday night with a layover at Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kan., before flying toward San Diego, according to FlightAware, a flight tracking database.
The plane was built in 1985 and owned by Daviator, a limited liability company registered in Alaska, according to public records. The F.A.A. classified the company as a fractional ownership business, a popular arrangement in the aviation sector that allows people to buy a portion of a private plane.
Josiah Tavares woke up to the sound of his mother-in-law yelling “fire.”
“I run downstairs, look outside and the whole street is on fire, cars are on fire,” Mr. Tavares said. “It looks like there is debris all over the place.”
Mr. Tavares gathered his family and was getting ready to make an escape over his backyard fence before a neighbor came to his front door saying there was a safe path through the street.
“So we’re running out the house trying to get up the street following emergency services,” he said, adding that they heard what sounded like cars exploding.
Mr. Tavares was at an evacuation center that had been set up on Thursday afternoon. He said he believed his house was spared of major damage. Mr. Tavares said people in the neighborhood had rallied to support one another.
“The community is really coming together here, and it’s beautiful,” he said.
Susan C. Beachy contributed research. Neil Vigdor contributed reporting.
Talya Minsberg is a Times reporter covering breaking and developing news.
Orlando Mayorquín is a Times reporter covering California. He is based in Los Angeles.
