Hours after an aircraft slammed into a San Diego neighborhood Thursday, the smell of jet fuel remained thick in the air as investigators scoured the area for clues to uncover what caused the plane to crash, killing multiple people.
The business jet careened into homes in a San Diego military housing community just before 4 a.m. Thursday, authorities said. The debris field is at least a quarter mile long, and jet fuel rained down the residential street, igniting several cars and damaging others as far as several blocks away from the main crash site.
At least two people have died and eight others were injured, according to the San Diego Police Department.
It is unclear how many people were onboard the jet, but all the fatalities appear to be from the plane, San Diego Fire Assistant Chief Dan Eddy said during a press conference on Thursday.
First responders quickly rushed to quell the flames as residents helped evacuate their neighbors from the homes, authorities said.
Hours later, the sun rose over charred ruins of a home badly damaged from the plane, which gouged a hole in the side of the house and collapsed the roof onto a car below.
“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 Police Chief, said during the press conference.
The San Diego police department later confirmed one person has been hospitalized and two others were treated and released following the incident.
San Diego Fire department told CNN that a Cessna 550 airplane, often called a Citation, “crashed near Montgomery Executive Airport around 3:45 am” Thursday.
The private jet is commonly used for business travel and can carry eight to ten people.
Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday.
Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday. Gregory Bull/AP
Several cars ignited after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday.
Several cars ignited after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday. Gregory Bull/AP
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
CNN aviation safety analyst David Soucie said one of his biggest concerns is that the Cessna Citation airplanes are generally considered “one of the most reliable airplanes.”
Although he’s awaiting the findings from the FAA investigation into the crash, including whether fog could have played a role. Soucie said the presence of jet fuel on the ground would seem to indicate that the plane did not run out of gas.
He cautioned it could also take some time to determine how many people were onboard the aircraft.
