At least two people have been confirmed dead and eight others injured after a small civilian aircraft crashed into a military housing neighborhood in San Diego, California, early Thursday morning. The tragic incident occurred around 3:45 a.m. local time in the Tierrasanta area, just over two miles east of Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
The aircraft, identified by the Federal Aviation Administration as a Cessna 550, was reportedly en route from the Midwest and approaching its final destination when it went down. According to San Diego Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Dan Eddy, the plane slammed into a residential area managed by Liberty Military Housing, causing extensive damage to multiple homes and vehicles.
“We had a plane that came through this neighborhood, taking out one home,” Eddy said during a news briefing at the scene. Fire crews arrived to find one house and several cars engulfed in flames. Of the eight people injured, only one required hospital treatment for minor wounds.
Authorities are still working to confirm the exact number of people aboard the aircraft at the time of the crash. Police believe that no residents on the ground were killed, but they have not yet been able to account for all residents in the affected area.
Roughly 100 residents were evacuated from the neighborhood to ensure their safety and to allow emergency response operations to proceed. “The damage behind us is incredibly significant, was life-threatening, and thank God nobody on the ground was killed,” said San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo.
Naval Base San Diego Commanding Officer, Captain Bob Heely, assured the public that temporary housing is being arranged for all affected military families, with support from Liberty Military Housing and the Red Cross.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched a joint investigation into the cause of the crash.
