Two people were killed Monday when a small plane crashed in San Diego, California, authorities said.
Video from the scene captured the burning wreckage of the Cessna at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, with a heavy column of black smoke rising into the air.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in preliminary information provided to News Outlet that “a Cessna 172 crashed while landing at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in California around 5:15 p.m. local time on Monday, Sept. 7. Two people were on board. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will lead the investigation and will provide further updates.”
Thick, black smoke rises from the fiery wreckage after a fatal plane crash in San Diego, California. (Storyful / Mauricio Godinez via Storyful)
In a statement to News Outlet, the NTSB said early information shows the aircraft “impacted terrain on airport property” during a go-around, after which a “post impact fire ensued.”
According to the FAA, a go-around is a maneuver that “discontinues the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude and configuration to safely make another approach.”
“An NTSB investigator is en route to the scene and is expected to arrive this afternoon,” the NTSB said in its statement first issued Tuesday. “Once on site, the investigator will begin the process of documenting the scene and examining the aircraft. The aircraft will then be recovered to a secure facility for further evaluation.”
A Cessna 172 takes a sunset flight over the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. (Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
An FAA preliminary notice regarding the incident suggests that the crash occurred after the plane’s “LEFT WING DIPPED” and the aircraft then “APPEARED TO STALL AND SPUN INTO GROUND.”
KNSD reports include footage of San Diego Fire-Rescue Department’s Brian Raines noting that the aircraft had been “heavily damaged” and responders were unable to extract the victims, but needed to focus on quenching the flames.
News Outlet reached out to the San Diego Police Department and the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department on Wednesday.
