A tragic incident occurred in Murrieta, California, when a small plane crashed in a field and caught fire during its second attempt to land in foggy conditions early Saturday morning. Tragically, six people lost their lives in the accident.
The plane involved was a Cessna C550 business jet, and the crash took place around 4:15 a.m. near French Valley Airport. Firefighters worked diligently for over an hour to extinguish the flames, which also caused some damage to the surrounding vegetation.
According to Elliott Simpson from the National Transportation Safety Board, the jet crashed about 500 feet short of the intended runway. Most of the aircraft, except for the tail, was consumed by the fire. Investigators are carefully examining a debris field spanning around 200 feet.
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Tragically, all six people on board the plane, who were adults, perished at the scene. Their identities have not been disclosed yet. The flight had departed from Las Vegas and was bound for Murrieta. During the second landing attempt, the pilot relied solely on instruments due to the limited visibility caused by low clouds.
The investigation will include a review of the communications between the pilot and air traffic control. A preliminary report is expected within two weeks, as stated by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The jet is registered to Prestige Worldwide Flights LLC, a company based in Imperial, California. However, no official comments have been provided by the company regarding the incident.
Sadly, this is the second fatal crash to occur at the Murrieta airport in recent days. Unfortunately, on July 4th, a Cessna 172 single-engine plane crashed shortly after taking off, resulting in one person losing their life and three others sustaining injuries in a parking lot near the airport. Murrieta is a city with approximately 112,000 residents.