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Fatalities confirmed after private jet crashes into San Diego neighborhood
ktla ^ | May 22, 2025 / | Marc Sternfield

Posted on 05/22/2025 8:53:32 AM PDT by BenLurkin

A private jet crashed into a San Diego neighborhood during foggy weather early Thursday, setting about 15 homes on fire as well as vehicles, and forcing the evacuation of several blocks, authorities said.

It was not immediately known how many people were aboard the aircraft, but officials confirmed multiple fatalities.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the Cessna 550 went down around 3:45 a.m. near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in Murphy Canyon, a community comprised of military housing.

San Diego Police and other first responders rushed to the scene and battled the flames fueled by spilled jet fuel., KSWB-TV reported.

“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.”

Authorities later confirmed that all of the fatalities were aboard the aircraft and no residents of the community required hospitalization.

“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,” Eddy said. “You can see that every single car was burning down both sides of the street.”

The flight tracking site Flight Aware lists a Cessna Citation II jet that was scheduled to arrive at the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport in San Diego at 3:47 a.m. from the small Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas.

...

Eddy said it was very foggy at the time the private plane crashed. “You could barely see in front of you,” he said.

(Excerpt) Read more at ktla.com ...


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: aviation
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To: mewzilla

Okay, I found them, about a mile down the page! Past all the ads................


41 posted on 05/23/2025 5:33:22 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: mewzilla

So basically flew right into the ground in the fog, thinking he had a 300 foot ceiling........................


42 posted on 05/23/2025 5:35:56 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

It sure sounds like it.

Dan Millican’s channel Taking Off has a vid...

https://youtu.be/BGBLXqoMsdQ?feature=shared

Again, be sure to read the comments, especially on this channel.


43 posted on 05/23/2025 5:44:04 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: Red Badger

And something that’s not getting any follow up...

During one of the first pressers it was reported that all of the car fires were out...except for one stubborn car fire that they were having difficulty extinguishing.

Wish someone had asked if the car was an EV.

But maybe the lack of curiosity is telling us the answer.


44 posted on 05/23/2025 5:52:01 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: mewzilla

It’s axiomatic nowadays that a car fire that won’t extinguish is an EV of some sort............


45 posted on 05/23/2025 5:54:01 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Interesting that nobody would ask or report it, though, eh?

BTW, shouldn’t a CA FD that large have car fire blankets for EV fires...?

One would hope.


46 posted on 05/23/2025 6:00:45 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: mewzilla

They probably only have one per firehouse............


47 posted on 05/23/2025 6:01:49 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

Since I hopped down this rabbit hole...

https://texfire.net/en/blog/126_how-long-does-a-fire-blanket-take-to-extinguish-a-vehicle-fire.html

Holy crap. And you’re tying up personnel, equipment while you babysit the dang thing.


48 posted on 05/23/2025 6:03:03 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: mewzilla

It’s a self-feeding chemical fire that you just have to wait out until it runs out of chemical energy.

Now imagine these new ELECTRIC SEMI-TRACTORS. They have HUGE BATTERIES...................................


49 posted on 05/23/2025 6:12:06 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: Red Badger

In a mass casualty event this would be the last thing you’d need.

What a cluster.


50 posted on 05/23/2025 6:13:58 AM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: BenLurkin

So far it seems the pilot flew an illegal approach, and poorly at that. Probably didn’t have a legal alternate either, given the weather.

The Citation 550 is a Cat C aircraft. The approach had no Cat C or D minimums, there were only A & B mins (both 3/4 mile visibility).

From the ADS-B data looks like he got low on the (illegal) approach and ran into trees or power lines.

Reckless, both in planning and execution.


51 posted on 05/23/2025 12:14:04 PM PDT by zipper (In their heart of hearts, all Democrats are communists)
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To: zipper

Under Part 91, a Category C aircraft can fly an approach without published Category C minimums if flown within the operational constraints (e.g., speed and maneuvering capability) of a lower category. It is the PIC’s responsibility to ensure compliance with obstacle clearance and safe operating limits.

However I don’t think this pilot made that kind of nuanced distinction anyway.


52 posted on 05/23/2025 1:09:12 PM PDT by zipper (In their heart of hearts, all Democrats are communists)
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To: zipper

Regarding part 91: You can start the approach with vis below minimums - a “look-see” approach - but:

You may not descend below DA/MDA unless:
• You have the required visibility (as reported or as observed).
• The runway environment is in sight.
• You can make a normal descent to landing.

So you can start the approach in poor visibility, but you can’t land unless the conditions improve enough by DA/MDA.


53 posted on 05/23/2025 1:44:48 PM PDT by zipper (In their heart of hearts, all Democrats are communists)
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To: Red Badger

The latest from YouTuber Captain Steeeve...

https://youtu.be/RZkSTDirah8?feature=shared

Worth the watch. Additional info, pilot’s perspective.

Again, comments also worth the read.


54 posted on 05/23/2025 3:22:07 PM PDT by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: CodeToad

I was thinking of non-jets though this was a jet, sorry.


55 posted on 05/24/2025 7:46:25 AM PDT by SaxxonWoods (The road is a dangerous place man, you can die out here...or worse. -Johnny Paycheck, 1980, Reno, NV)
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To: mewzilla; BenLurkin

Another pilot error - apparently, the outage was in the NOTAMs. On the transcript, you can hear the clicks as he was trying to turn the lights full up.


Runway lights weren’t working as pilot tried to land at foggy San Diego airport before fatal crash

https://www.yahoo.com/news/federal-investigators-comb-san-diego-192748797.html


56 posted on 05/24/2025 1:14:22 PM PDT by zipper (In their heart of hearts, all Democrats are communists)
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To: zipper
RAIL Lights were INOP, which is a set of high intensity lights at runway end that help pilots to align with the runway.

Pilot knowingly undercut the minimum approach altitude or had a faulty altimeter setting, which could make a critical misrepresentation of altitude, they think he hit power lines and lost control from there.

In any case, why fly in the early morning hours in darkness and make an approach into a FOG BANK?

It makes no sense!

57 posted on 05/30/2025 8:15:02 AM PDT by agincourt1415 (Trump! )
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To: agincourt1415

Yes.

And he could have gone to San Diego (SAN) instead, only a six miles southwest, with 1,000 ft overcast skies and 9 miles of visibility.

I read somewhere that he had a female passenger who needed to take her child to school early in the same morning as their arrival - her car parked at Montgomery - not sure but she may have been the woman occupying the right seat (female who was not a pilot).

He made some enormous judgment errors, and the ATC controller never mentioned SAN, though it seems implausible he didn’t know the weather there was much better.


58 posted on 05/31/2025 3:16:27 PM PDT by zipper (In their heart of hearts, all Democrats are communists)
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To: zipper
At my last FAA Safety Seminar, I felt like standing up and saying - Hey Kids, get your instrument rating and fly in foul weather. Kill your kids and friends! The accidents lately just make no sense! All related to pilots making basic judgement errors that are beyond belief!

Don't get me talking!

59 posted on 06/02/2025 5:13:36 AM PDT by agincourt1415 (Trump! )
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To: BenLurkin

“”Authorities later confirmed that all of the fatalities were aboard the aircraft and no residents of the community required hospitalization.””

That is a stunning miracle. Fifteen houses on fire, 3:45 am in the morning with people still in bed, but no fatalities or even serious injuries? How does that happen, exactly (if not by God).

As for the fog issue, the jet had to have instruments showing the plane’s altitude....right? Did the pilot fall asleep? Really weird.


60 posted on 06/02/2025 5:19:10 AM PDT by Danie_2023
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