Two people were killed Monday when a small plane crashed at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego, California.
Video from the scene captured the intense aftermath, with flames and a column of thick black smoke rising from the wreckage of the Cessna.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in preliminary information provided to News Media 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 burning aircraft following a fatal plane crash in San Diego, California. (Storyful / Mauricio Godinez via Storyful)
In a separate statement to News Media, the NTSB said early findings indicate the aircraft “impacted terrain on airport property” during a go-around, after which a “post impact fire ensued.”
The FAA explains on its website that a go-around “discontinues the landing approach and returns the aircraft to an altitude and configuration to safely make another approach.”
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“An NTSB investigator is en route to the scene and is expected to arrive this afternoon,” the NTSB’s statement first issued Tuesday noted. “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 taking 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.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department public information officer Candace Hadley told News Media on Wednesday that their hearts and thoughts go out to the crash victims’ families. She said that more than 30 department personnel had responded to the incident.
News Media reached out to the San Diego Police Department on Wednesday.