US EditionRunway Lights Weren’t Working as Pilot Tried to Land at Foggy San Diego Airport Before Fatal Crash
- A Cessna 550 private jet crashed around 3:47 a.m. On May 22 into a U.S. Navy neighborhood near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in foggy San Diego.
- The pilot attempted to land despite dense fog and inoperative airport systems, including runway lights and the automated weather observation system, which were down due to a power surge.
- The plane clipped power lines about two miles from the airport, crashed into homes, caused a fire, and forced roughly 100 residents to evacuate; eight people suffered minor injury from smoke inhalation.
- Six people died aboard, including music agent Dave Shapiro, two employees of Sound Talent Group, former drummer Daniel Williams, and others; no deaths occurred on the ground, and the pilot had not declared an emergency.
- Investigators with the NTSB will work up to two years to determine the crash cause, while initial findings highlight poor visibility, equipment failures, and possible pilot fatigue as contributing factors.
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‘Classic attempt to...’: New details in San Diego plane crash reveal ‘no runway lights, heavy fog at airport’
According to audio of the conversation posted by LiveATC.net, the pilot acknowledged that the weather conditions for landing at the small airport were not ideal. Also, the fog was so thick in the morning that “you could barely see in front of you.”
Scratching in San Diego: Investigators Miss the Site
The weather warning system and the runway lighting did not operate at San Diego airport, where a private jet was to land before crashing in a neighborhood, but the cause of the accident remains uncertain, the authorities said on Friday.
Weather data system, runway lights were out before Cessna crash that killed 6
A NTSB investigator at the crash scene in Murphy Canyon Friday. (Photo by Adrian Childress/Times of San Diego) The pilot of the small plane that plunged into a Murphy Canyon neighborhood did not seem alarmed prior to the crash, investigators said Friday, but could have been hampered by a lack of information from a key system meant to assist those in the air. That’s according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which has been on scene si…
Associated Press News
Runway lights weren't working as pilot tried to land at foggy San Diego airport before fatal crash
The runway lights were out, a weather alert system wasn’t working and there was heavy fog at a San Diego airport when a pilot who had flown across the country made the decision to proceed with landing but came up short and crashed into a neighborhood.
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