A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, killing multiple people and leaving a trail of torched debris. Here’s how the tragedy unfolded.
In the stillness of night, a quiet, tree-lined street in a San Diego neighborhood was plunged into chaos when a plane clipped a power line and crashed – turning cars into fireballs and sending residents fleeing in a haze of smoke and confusion.
The pilot of the plane, a Cessna 550 business jet, had just told air traffic controllers that although the weather wasn’t good they would continue with landing, according to air traffic control audio recorded by LiveATC.net. r impact x
00:00A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, killing multiple people and leaving a trail of torched debris.
00:07Here's how the tragedy unfolded.
00:10In the stillness of night, a quiet, tree-lined street in a San Diego neighborhood was plunged,
00:16into chaos when a plane clipped a power line and crashed,
00:19turning cars into fireballs and sending residents fleeing in a haze of smoke and confusion.
00:24The pilot of the plane, a Cessna 550 business jet, had just told air traffic controllers that although the weather wasn't good,
00:32they would continue with landing, according to air traffic control audio recorded by LiveATC.net.
00:38I just want to see what I'm in for.
00:40Here, the pilot told a controller when asking about weather conditions at Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport.
00:46The controller reported poor conditions, visibility of a halfpipe, and a cloud ceiling of 200 feet.
00:53All right, that doesn't sound great, but we'll give it a go, the pilot responded.
00:59Roughly half an hour after that exchange, the plane crashed.
01:03There was no sign of any problem, and no emergency was declared.
01:08Six people were on board the flight, officials said, and when asked if anyone on the plane survived,
01:14San Diego Fire Assistant Chief Dan Eddy answered,
01:17I don't know on, I, that point, but no, I don't believe so.
01:20At least two people were confirmed dead, according to the San Diego Police Department.
01:25Eight people in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, a military housing community, were injured,
01:30including two treated for minor injuries at the scene and six others who received medical attention, police said.
01:37Responding fire crews and police officers sprinted through thick fog in a race against the encroaching flames.
01:42After hitting the power line, the plane slammed into a home and left a trail of debris along the street,
01:47spilling fuel that sparked a chain of fires.
01:50Firefighters went door to door, urgently evacuating residents, parents clutching infants, families, half asleep.
01:58One resident told CNN affiliate KFMB they were jolted awake by a thunderous boom,
02:04looked outside, and saw a fireball going down the street.
02:08As his wife grabbed their dogs and children, he ran to help evacuate the family whose home was directly struck by the plane.
02:15I ended up grabbing two of the kids over the fence, took them over to the neighbors, came back, we grabbed the ladder,
02:21got the wife out, got the two dogs out, got the husband out.
02:24Another resident told KFMB the moment he opened his door, he saw his neighbor's car explode.
02:30First thing I do is run upstairs, grab my children, my wife, and I'm in my underwear.
02:35I just walk out, he said.
02:37We ended up helping a few neighbors get out.
02:40That's all that we could do.
02:42The destruction stretched for at least a quarter mile down the residential street,
02:46where several cars caught fire and others several blocks away from the main crash site were damaged.
02:51Later Thursday, as the full scale of damage came into view, officials inspected the skeleton of a home,
02:58ravaged by the plane's impact, which gouged a hole in its side and crushed the roof onto a car beneath.
03:04The thick stench of jet fuel hung in the air as crews combed the wreckage for possible clues to the cause of the crash.
03:10Between the charred remains of vehicles laid a yellow body bag, a somber reminder of the tragedy's toll.
03:16It's a miracle.
03:18None of the fatalities involved residents in the neighborhood, Eddie, the assistant fire chief, said.
03:23When I was coming on scene, I did not expect that same outcome as I got here, he said.
03:27I don't know exactly how they got out, but I do know that neighbors helped them get out.
03:31And that's the beauty of what I love in this neighborhood.
03:34Military looking out for one another.
03:36They did exactly what they did to try to help each other.
03:38Music agency Sound Talent Group said three of its employees, including David Shapiro, one of its co-founders, died in the crash.
03:49The Associated Press reported Thursday.
03:51The agency did not name the two other employees who died.
03:56CNN reached.
03:57Out to Sound Talent Group for more information.
04:00Shapiro represented some of the most well-known international hard rock, punk, and indie bands.
04:05We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dave Shapiro and his two colleagues.
04:10A spokesperson for the National Independent Talent Organization, a trade organization that represents independent talent agencies and managers across the country, told CNN in a statement.
04:21Dave was a visionary in the music industry, the statement said.
04:25Shapiro, who had a pilot's license, owned the aircraft under a company named Deviator LLC, according to FAA records.
04:31Scott Wall, San Diego police chief, said he was struggling.
04:36To describe the scene, his crews encountered when they arrived.
04:40I 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, he said during a news conference.
04:51Footage from the immediate aftermath captured mothers and fathers clutching children on their hips, running through the mist of water dousing the flames, while frightened dogs scrambled alongside them.
05:01The San Diego Humane Society has taken in 36 pets, including dogs, at least one cat, five geckos, and a 20-gallon fish tank for emergency boarding.
05:13From families impacted by the crash, it said on social media, the organization's medical team gave several animals decontamination baths to clean off jet fuel.
05:21The National Transportation Safety Board is on scene documenting the crash site and plans to recover the airplane to a secure location on Saturday, said Elliot Simpson, a senior aviation accident investigator.
05:33This aircraft likely has a flight data recorder and possibly a cockpit voice recorder, he said.
05:38The jet departed from Teterboro, New Jersey, Wednesday night at about 11.15 p.m., making a fuel stop in Wichita, Kansas, before crashing, according to Simpson.
05:48A preliminary report will be published on the NTSB website in about two weeks, and a final report will be released in about 12-18 months.
05:55I feel for the families of those on the plane and what they're going through right now, Eddie said during Thursday's news conference.
06:05It's tragic to see the wreckage.
06:07Whether you're involved or not, just normal citizens that are here.
06:11They're going to remember this the rest of their lives.
