At least two people were 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 crash happened 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.
San Diego Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Dan Eddy said the plane slammed into a residential area managed by Liberty Military Housing, damaging 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 found one house and several cars engulfed in flames upon arrival.
As of Thursday morning, two people were confirmed dead, and eight others sustained injuries. Only one of the injured required hospital treatment for minor wounds.
Authorities were still working to confirm how many people were aboard the plane at the time of the crash.
Police believe that no residents on the ground were killed, but could not immediately confirm that all have been accounted for.
Roughly 100 residents were evacuated from the neighborhood for safety and emergency response operations.
“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 that temporary housing is being arranged for all affected military families.
“We are actively working with Liberty Military Housing and the Red Cross to ensure displaced families have somewhere to go,”;; Heely said.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have launched a joint investigation into the cause of the crash.
