National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials confirmed Friday that a small plane that plummeted into a U.S. Navy-owned residential neighborhood in San Diego early Thursday, incinerating more than a dozen nearby homes and cars, hit high-tension power lines while approaching the airport for landing.
The aircraft, a Cessna 550 Citation business jet, crashed around 3:45 a.m. in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, killing all six people on board, according to Dan Baker, the NTSB investigator in charge.
While the identities of those killed have not yet been confirmed by authorities, Fox News Digital learned music executive Dave Shapiro and drummer Daniel Williams died in the crash.
Authorities work where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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After departing from Teterboro, New Jersey, the flight made a stop in Wichita, Kansas, and was inbound to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
The plane was approaching the airport’s runway when it struck the power lines.
Baker said the male pilot did not report any problems to air traffic control and did not declare an emergency.
Authorities work where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks Thursday, May 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
NTSB investigators determined the automated surface observing system, which provides airport weather conditions to pilots, was “inoperative” at the airport at the time of the accident due to “an unrelated power surge.”
Air traffic control provided the pilot the weather conditions at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar before he began the approach to Montgomery Airport, Baker said.
The weather at Miramar, which is four miles north of Montgomery Airport, was briefed as wind calm, with a half-mile of visibility and a 200-foot ceiling.
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NTSB investigators also determined there were notices to air mission, also called NOTAMs, in effect at the time of the accident that stated the runway’s precision approach path indicator and approach light system with runway alignment indicator lights at the airport were “out of service.”
While the plane did not have a flight data recorder, Baker said a cockpit voice recorder may have been installed.
A map showing where a small aircraft crashed in San Diego Thursday morning. (Fox News)
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Wreckage recovery will be done Friday afternoon, concluding the on-scene portion of the investigation.
“We will continue to investigate pilot qualifications, training, flight history and other human factors that may have been involved in the accident,” Baker said. “We will investigate the airplane’s maintenance history and flight performance, and we will continue to investigate any other environmental issues that may have been a factor in the accident.”
FAA records show Shapiro was the plane’s owner and held a pilot’s license, though it is unclear if he was flying the aircraft at the time of the crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board is still trying to determine the cause of the San Diego plane crash. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
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Officials said only eight injuries were reported on the ground due to the swift action of military families helping each other escape homes and jump from windows.
About 100 residents were displaced. Liberty Military Housing and the Red Cross are helping residents find accommodations.
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NTSB regional investigators, the Federal Aviation Administration, Textron Aviation and Williams International Engines are assisting with the investigation.
Air traffic control and weather specialists from the NTSB are assisting remotely.
