SAN DIEGO (AP) — A small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood during foggy weather early Thursday, setting about 15 homes on fire as well as vehicles, and forcing evacuations along several blocks, authorities said.
“We have jet fuel all over the place,” Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said during a news conference. “Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now.”
He said “there is a direct hit to multiple homes” in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood and described “a gigantic debris field” in a dense, packed neighborhood where a number of military families live.
It was not known if there were any injuries.
Christopher Moore, who lives one street over from the crash site, said he and his wife were awakened by a loud bang and saw smoke when they looked out the window.
They grabbed their two young children and ran out of the house. On their way out of the neighborhood they saw a car engulfed in flames.
“It was definitely horrifying for sure, but sometimes you’ve just got to drop your head and get to safety,” he said.
Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. “You could barely see in front of you,” he said.
The Cessna 550 aircraft crashed at about 3:45 a.m. near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“The number of people on board is unknown at this time,” the FAA said in a statement.
The plane can carry six to eight people.
The FAA said the National Transportation Safety Board will lead the investigation.
In October 2021, a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb, killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes. It was preparing to land at the airport.
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