TJ Manotoc

Several dead as plane crashes on California neighborhood

Investigators look through the site where a small plane crashed  into San Diego, California, residential street on May 22, 2025. The Federal Aviation Authority said a Cessna 550 crashed at around 3:45 am local time. The neighborhood is close to the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. The crash left a "gigantic debris field" and damaged some 15 homes and parked cars, ABC News quoted the San Diego assistant fire chief as saying. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker / AFP)

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RNLBFQlf6i0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/>Several people are feared dead after a small plane crashed onto a California neighborhood before dawn Thursday, destroying homes and setting cars on fire.</div><p>At least 10 houses were burned or hit by debris that spread over a wide area, and cars on both sides of a street went up in flames when the Cessna 550 slammed into the ground in San Diego.</p><p>&quot;There are more than one fatality that we found so far, but we&#x27;re waiting to get the registered numbers that were on the plane itself,&quot; said San Diego&#x27;s Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy.</p><p>&quot;When it hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,&quot; he said, adding: &quot;We have jet fuel all over the place.&quot;</p><p>One resident told the local Fox affiliate he had fled his home in a hurry.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:321px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1925610977305010290&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring&amp;sessionId=cee621d022f6f7953f8b1e88355ba11f2c7217aa&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="1925610977305010290"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>&quot;I looked out the window and there was just flames everywhere,&quot; said the man, who did not give his name.</p><p>&quot;Then we heard the chain reaction of boom, boom, boom. And I&#x27;m like: &#x27;Whoa&#x27;.&quot;</p><p>Footage of the immediate aftermath of the crash showed a line of burning fuel linking the flaming cars.</p><p>Eddy said &quot;miraculously&quot; no one on the ground had been killed or seriously hurt.</p><p>- Thick fog -</p><div><br/></div><p>Daylight revealed what a close call it had been for some people, with images showing the roof of one home blackened and collapsing.</p><p>Vehicles were twisted and charred, and several trees were burned. The smell of fuel hung in the air hours after the crash as authorities combed the area for clues.</p><p>The accident happened in thick fog when the plane, which had come from Kansas, was nearing the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.</p><p>The plane, which can carry up to eight people, went down around 3:45 am (1145 GMT), according to the Federal Aviation Administration, striking the Murphy Canyon neighborhood.</p><p>The residential area it hit is largely military housing. San Diego is home to US Navy facilities, Marine Corps bases and Coast Guard stations.</p><p>Zane Baker, a high school senior who lives in the area, said police officers had gone door-to-door getting people out of their homes.</p><p>&quot;I immediately just rushed to the front door, just looking outside, seeing what&#x27;s happening,&quot; he told broadcaster KTLA.</p><p>&quot;I made sure all my siblings were awake and they were conscious and they were okay.&quot;</p><p>Baker, who described himself as a &quot;Navy rat&quot; -- the son of a servicemember -- said scores of people had been evacuated from their homes, with many now milling around in confusion.</p><p>&quot;The entirety of our parking lots and other areas are completely filled. A lot of the entryways are blocked. People can&#x27;t get in or out. It&#x27;s a confusing mess.&quot;</p><p>The accident came at a time of heightened tension in the skies above America, with a number of incidents rocking public confidence in flying.</p><p>Air traffic control outages have struck the busy Newark airport on the East Coast at least twice in recent weeks, and in January there was a mid-air collision over Washington between a passenger plane and a military helicopter.</p><p>This month two people who were onboard a small plane died when it crashed into a residential neighborhood northwest of Los Angeles.</p>

<p>Several people are feared dead after a small plane crashed onto a California neighborhood before dawn Thursday, destroying homes and setting cars on fire.</p>

Several people are feared dead after a small plane crashed onto a California neighborhood before dawn Thursday, destroying homes and setting cars on fire.