Small plane crashes near San Diego, killing passengers, cutting power
(KTLA) — Firefighters “were not able to find any survivors” after a jet crashed in the El Cajon area of Southern California Monday evening, according to San Diego officials.
Rick Breitenfeldt, an FAA spokesperson, confirmed the aircraft was a Learjet 35 business jet that had departed John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana and was headed to Gillespie Field Airport in San Diego County with four people on board. Officials with the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said that the jet crashed east of El Cajon just after 7 p.m. Monday.
National Weather Service data described sky conditions at Gillespie as “fog/mist” at 6:55 p.m. Radio communications between the jet and the airfield recorded by LiveATC.net indicated that trouble happened suddenly.
The pilot canceled an instrument flight rules approach to one runway and requested a switch to another runway using visual flight rules.
After the switch was granted and new instructions were given, the pilot asked that the field lights be turned up and was told they were already at 100%. The pilot suddenly exclaimed three times and screamed.
“Firefighters were not able to find any survivors at the crash scene,” the Sheriff’s Department statement said, adding that identifications will be made by the county medical examiner’s office.
FAA records show the twin-engine jet was registered to El Cajon-based Med Jet LLC. A request for information was sent to an email listing for the company.
No one was hurt on the ground but one home was damaged and power lines were knocked down in the area, the sheriff’s department said, causing more than 2,500 San Diego Gas & Electric customers to lose power after the crash. That number had been reduced significantly by early Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was investigating but did not plan to release any information until a preliminary report is produced in several weeks. A final report, including the probable cause, will likely take 12 to 24 months, the board said.
Check back for updates on this developing story.