San Diego Fire-Rescue Department has confirmed it attended a small plane crash incident near downtown San Diego in which two people have been killed. The incident occurred on Monday in the early evening.
Two fatalities
A small Cessna plane crash-landed onto an airstrip at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, a corporate air facility that serves a range of general aviation aircraft from private, corporate and light cargo, to air ambulance, law enforcement, and fire rescue. Two unidentified people in the aircraft are confirmed to have died.
Officials were alerted to the crash at the facility in Kearny Mesa – just north of downtown San Diego – around 5:20 p.m. PDT on Monday, Sept. 7 (12:20 a.m. Tuesday September 8 UTC). Following this, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) closed the airfield to allow a 30 member crew from the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department to put out the fire and attempt to rescue any survivors. Deputy Fire Chief Brian Raines commented at a news conference,
“Our priority is to get in and complete any rescues if possible. In this case, the plane was heavily damaged and we were not able to extricate any of the victims.”
Raines subsequently expressed his condolences for the two fatalities and their families, describing the incident as tragic.
Investigation pending
According to Deputy Fire Chief Brian Raines, the crews had managed to put the fire out by 7 p.m. PDT (2 a.m. UTC), but were still working on an active fuel leak, collaborating with the airport on the cleanup. At present, it is unclear whether the aircraft was taking off or landing when it crashed, and the cause of the crash is undetermined.
Raines asserted that the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department would stand by for the National Transportation Safety Board to ascertain when the plane can be moved, depending on what’s needed for the investigation that will be undertaken to determine the cause of the crash.
Our thoughts go to anyone impacted by this incident.
