Six people died after a plane that took off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas crashed over a Southern California field Saturday morning. The plane burst into flames.
The pilot attempted a second landing attempt in fog before dawn Saturday, authorities said.
The aircraft crashed near an airport in Murrieta, California, in southwest Riverside County, located between Los Angeles and San Diego.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department is still processing the scene and trying to contact the next of kin of the victims, Sheriff Sgt. Deirdre Vickers said.
The plane, with about one acre of vegetation, was engulfed in fire when deputies arrived, the department reported.
A aircraft emergency was received at 4:16 a.m., according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The brush fire from the downed aircraft was contained by 5:35 a.m.
The plane was a Cessna Citation C550 business jet that departed before 4 a.m. at the Atlantic Aviation terminal, where private planes arrive, according toHayes, an airportspokesperson, said.
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The jet, which seats up to 13 people, crashed about 500 feet short of the intended runway. This is said Elliott Simpson, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
“Most of the airplane, except the tail, was consumed by fire,” Simpson told reporters. Investigators comb through a debris field about 200 feet long, he said.
All six people on board died at the scene, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The victims, all adults, were not immediately identified.
The plane, which had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas for the 45-minute flight to Murietta, crashed during its second approach, the NTSB said.
The pilot was cleared for a landing using only instruments because of limited visibility from the low cloud ceiling, Simpson said.
“The visibility and ceiling allowed for a landing, but it was right on the minimums” of the regulations set for that airport.
The FAA’s aircraft tracking database lists the jet as owned by Prestige Worldwide Flights LLC of Imperial, California. Officials with the company could not be reached for comment.
The six people from the plane were located and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the sheriff’s department. They have not been identified.
The investigation into the crash will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration. TheNTSB is coordinating the probe and providing any updates, according to FAA spokesperson Mina Kaji.
The Saturday morning crash marked the second fatal crash near French Valley Airport in Riverside County.
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