Pilot and passengers killed in San Diego plane crash
Investigators look through the site where a small plane crashed on a San Diego, California, residential street on May 22, 2025. PHOTO: AFP
SAN DIEGO - The six people onboard a small plane that crash-landed on a California neighborhood amid dense fog were all killed, according to investigating authorities.
The Cessna 550 Citation, which federal records show belonged to music agent Dave Shapiro, plummeted into a residential area of San Diego at 3.47am local time on May 22, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
It was not immediately clear what caused the Cessna to come plunging into the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, about 3.2km from the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport where the aircraft was headed.
In an audio recording posted to air traffic website liveatc.net, the pilot can be heard asking about weather conditions prior to descent, while indicating that visibility was down to a minimum.
'Doesn't sound great, but we'll give it a go,' the pilot said.
A burned house and car after a small airplane crashed into the area earlier in the day near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego, California, USA on May 22, 2025.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
As the plane came down, it clipped a power line and the impact of the crash set several nearby houses and vehicles alight, jolting families awake before dawn.
'The pilot and passengers were fatally injured,' NTSB investigator Dan Baker told a press conference on May 23. He added that no one on the ground had been seriously hurt.
While Mr Baker did not specify the number of fatalities, the US Federal Aviation Administration previously said the private plane had six people onboard.
Firefighters work the site where a small plane crashed into a San Diego, California, residential street on May 22, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
The San Diego County medical examiner's office named three of the victims as Mr Shapiro, 42, Ms Emma Huke, 25, and Ms Celina Kenyon, 36.
Music veteran Shapiro was a co-founder of Sound Talent Group, which counts artists Hanson, Sum 41, Modern Baseball and Vanessa Carlton on its roster.
The company told US media that two other members of its staff, booking assistants Ms Huke and Ms Kendall Fortner, were also killed in the crash.
'We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted,' Sound Talent Group said in a statement.
San Diego Police Department Public Information Officer Jose Ysea briefs reporters after a small airplane crashed into a residential area earlier this morning near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego, California, USA on May 22, 2025.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
NBC7 identified the other victims as software engineer Dominic Damian and Daniel Williams, a former drummer for metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada.
'No words. We owe you everything. Love you forever,' the band wrote in a tribute to Mr Williams on Instagram.
Ms Kenyon was a professional photographer and mother, according to her social media. Her father, Bryan Charles Feldman, told NBC7 she had chosen to fly home early with friends after a photo shoot rather than take a commercial plane so she could take her daughter to school the next day.
At least 10 homes in San Diego's Murphy Canyon neighborhood were hit by debris, while the street was littered with charred remnants, scattered fiberglass and jet fuel.
Eight people were treated for minor injuries, according to responding police and firefighters.
A street is littered with debris where a small plane crashed into San Diego, California, residential street on May 22, 2025.
PHOTO: AFP
The NTSB said the pilot had not reported any problems to air traffic control or declared an emergency before trying to land.
The regional Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport was experiencing several glitches at the time, with its runway approach lights and an automated weather reporting system not operational, according to the NTSB's Mr Baker.
The plane was not equipped with a flight data recorder.
'We are trying to determine at this time if the airplane was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder,' Mr Baker said.
The NTSB said its preliminary investigation would take several weeks to complete. AFP
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