Six passengers were on board a business jet that crashed in a field on Saturday in Murrieta, California, according to the local police and aviation regulators looking into the early-morning incident close to French Valley Airport.
The Cessna 550 departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and crashed during its second approach just short of the French Valley airstrip at 4:15 a.m. local time, according to a statement from the National Transportation Safety Board.
Along with the six deceased, Riverside County deputies “located an aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field,” according to the sheriff’s office. The incident, according to the fire department, consumed an acre of vegetation until it was put out at about 5:35 a.m. Through a dense fog, local news channels aired pictures of the burned-out wreckage.
Here is a tweet that confirms the news:
A small jet plunged into a field near an airport in Southern California killing all six people on board – the second plane crash in the area in less than a week. @Zohreen reports as NTSB investigators arrive on scene. https://t.co/7s6Lq5X5xL pic.twitter.com/nfllGYiMU4
— World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) July 9, 2023
None of the passengers’ names or other crash information was made public. Five investigators were en route to the scene, according to the NTSB statement, which also noted that it was still too early to assess any probable causes. Additionally, the Federal Aviation Administration is looking into it.
This was the airstrip’s second tragic crash in a week. According to officials and local press accounts, a single-engine Cessna 172 crashed last Tuesday shortly after takeoff from French Valley, killing the 39-year-old pilot and hurting his three young boys who were traveling with him.
The airport’s operator, Riverside County Aviation, referred inquiries to the investigating authorities. The airstrip is close to a bustling corridor with “a proliferation of high-tech and manufacturing business,” according to the French Valley website. Golf courses, resorts, and fine dining are cited as some of the area’s features.
On its way to New York last month, a Cessna Citation with an unresponsive pilot took off from Tennessee and strayed off course. In order to intercept the airliner, authorities launched fighter jets, sending a sonic boom through the Washington, D.C., region. All four occupants of the plane, including a youngster, died in the crash near Montebello, Virginia.
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