A scary scene unfolded today in San Diego after a small aircraft crashed in a large area military neighborhood this morning, setting several homes and vehicles on fire.
According to reports, the aircraft, a Cessna 550, crashed at around 3:45 a.m. in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, leaving a path of destruction while people slept.
San Diego plane crash burns down 15 homes. pic.twitter.com/di9ZIN1c0J
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Officials said that there were “multiple fatalities” and that nobody on the ground was seriously injured.
The plane can carry six to eight people, however investigators said they are still trying to determine how many people were on board.
“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 was a “direct hit to multiple homes” and described “a gigantic debris field” in an area of densely populated homes and sweeping canyon views.
Nearly 100 residents have been displaced in what Naval Base San Diego Capt. Bob Healy described as “one of the largest military housing areas in the world.”
Initial reports from investigators say that the plane hit a pole, losing its wing, then crashed into a home, sending debris airborne.
Officials said that 15 homes were impacted by the crash. The plane originated from the Midwest.
Footage from the crash site shows debris from the aircraft seen strewn along a nearby road and several other cars on the road were also charred and mangled and could be seen still smoldering hours later as the morning sky brightened.
“We had one stubborn car fire that wouldn’t go out, but the house fires have been knocked down,” Eddy said.
“Every car on both sides of the street caught fire due to jet fuel. Multiple homes were destroyed.”
One witness said he heard several loud booms followed by fires.
“You look out the window, you just see big flames… So big flames, flames everywhere,” he told Fox 2 KTVU.
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl described the catastrophic scenes.
“I can’t quite put words to describe what this scene looks like but with the jet fuel going down the street and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty horrific to see,” Wahl said.
“For the police officers and firefighters to run in there, start trying to evacuate people out of the way and doing anything and everything they could to try to save somebody’s life is really heroic.”
The crash site is close to the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, a smaller airport on the north side of the city.
The crash drew a large police and fire response with first responders going from house to house to check on residents, according to local reports.
Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the plane to crash.
The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate, the FAA said in a statement. The NSTB will lead the investigation and provide any updates, the FAA said.