Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of a San Diego plane crash that left at least four people dead and several others injured in the military housing neighborhood of Murphy Canyon on Thursday.
On Thursday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed six people were aboard the plane at the time of the crash. Sound Talent Group released a statement saying three of its employees were killed in the crash, including its co-founder, Dave Shapiro, who was listed as the plane’s owner. The music agency also identified two booking assistants who died in the crash: 24-year-old Kendall Fortner and 25-year-old Emma Huke.
The San Diego Medical Examiner also identified victim 36-year-old Celina Marie Rose Kenyon.
Crews with the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are still working to confirm the total number of fatalities. They will remain on the scene for several days to examine evidence, and wreckage recovery is set to begin later Friday.
“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” the company said. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.”
The crash occurred at 3:45 a.m. near Scuplin Street and Santo Road, not far from the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego, where the Cessna 550 private jet was heading. The neighborhood where the crash took place is Navy-owned housing, Capt. Bob Heely, Commanding Officer of the Naval base in San Diego, said.
Eliott Simpson with the NTSB said the plane struck power lines two miles southeast of the airport, and then collided with a home.
During a news conference Friday, NTSB investigator Dan Baker said a technical glitch at Montgomery-Gibbs knocked out a system that gives weather updates to approaching pilots. The pilot of the plane instead spoke to an air-traffic controller at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, four miles away from Montgomery-Gibbs, for weather updates.
Baker said weather conditions impact the decision-making of pilots upon approach. Montgomery-Gibbs also experienced an outage of lights along runways.
Despite technical issues at Montgomery-Gibbs, it’s not yet clear if they affected the pilot’s ability to fly the jet.
“The pilot did not report any problems to air traffic control and he did not declare an emergency,” Baker said.
The plane didn’t have a flight data recorder, Baker added.
Emergency response to the San Diego plane crash
The plane crashed into a residential neighborhood, damaging 10 homes and displacing at least 100 residents, officials said after surveying the impacted area.
The crash forced the San Diego Police Department to issue evacuations for Salmon, Sample and Sculpin streets. Nearby Miller Elementary School at 4343 Shields Street is serving as an evacuation site and the American Red Cross is also providing assistance to impacted families.
Police said Salmon Road, Santo Road, and Corporal Drive will remain closed while the National Transportation Safety Bureau conducts its investigation. Hancock and Miller elementary schools have reopened on Friday after being closed, the San Diego Unified School District said.
“I can’t quite put words to describe what this scene looks like, but with the jet fuel going down the street and everything all on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see,” said San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl at a news conference.
The San Diego Humane Society also responded to the scene of the crash to conduct search and rescue operations. Teams deployed around 10 a.m. on Thursday and began working in the evacuation zone to safe animals who were lost or left behind.
San Diego and Escondido locations have taken in 22 animals, including 13 dogs, eight puppies and one cat. The Human Society said 12 of the dogs were exposed to jet fuel and medical teams have been providing decontamination services.
If people need help evacuating an animal or have had to leave one behind, they are encouraged to call the Humane Law Enforcement dispatch at 619-299-7012 (press 1).
Where did the Cessna 550 jet originate?
According to flight information from FlightAware, a company that offers flight tracking, the plane left the Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey, on Wednesday around 8:15 p.m. local time. It made a fuel stop at the Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas, around 10:49 p.m. local time before heading to San Diego. The plane was heading toward the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport when the crash occurred.
