27-05-2025
Temporary fence set up around site of deadly plane crash in San Diego
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A temporary fence has been put up around the site of the deadly plane crash in Murphy Canyon last Thursday, as residents whose homes were unimpacted have begun trickling back to the neighborhood.
Over the weekend, crews removed the last bits of debris from the wreckage that killed six people and left eight others injured. The fragments of the Cessna 550 Citation II plane had remained at the crash site on Sample Street for several days as federal investigators processed the scene.
Residents who have been able to come back to their homes with the immediate clean-up complete say they are still reeling from the early morning crash.
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'I have been hugging everyone and just praying over everybody and crying,' Jennifer Alvarez, who lives on Sample Street, told FOX 5/KUSI on Saturday. 'I have moments where I just want to cry a lot.'
Details about what led up to the crash of the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport-bound aircraft into the military-housing community remain under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration.
The Cessna plummeted into the neighborhood around 3:45 a.m., spilling jet fuel into the street that sparked a number of fires. The flames burned more than a dozen homes and vehicles, creating a scene described by a local fire official as a 'gigantic debris field.'
'Seeing the flames and hearing the popping made me realize this was bad. Then the thought of 'What if flames jump?'' Alvarez recalled. 'Having to get the family out was key.'
Preliminary information from NTSB indicates the plane had been flying in low visibility due to thick fog when it struck a power line, detaching a piece of its wing. The damage caused the aircraft to fall from the sky and slam into a home.
In the hours before the crash, federal officials say key landing equipment at Montgomery-Gibbs, such as the airport's runway approach lights and weather data system, were disabled by an unrelated power surge. The airport's tower was also closed.
The pilot of the Cessna instead checked in with air traffic controllers at the nearby MCAS Miramar for details on conditions and whether it was safe to land at Montgomery-Gibbs. The air space had reported visibility of just a quarter mile with a cloud ceiling of 200 feet.
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Audio recordings between the pilot and air traffic controllers show the pilot of the Cessna acknowledged the poor conditions, but said he would 'give it a go,' per investigators.
Six people were on board the aircraft when it went down, all of whom are presumed dead by officials.
Loved ones and the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office have identified the passengers as local music talent agency Dave Shapiro, former drummer for The Devil Wear's Prada Daniel Williams, photographer Celina Kenyon, jiu-jitsu fighter Dominic Damian, and Sound Talent Agency booking associates, Kendall Fortner and Emma Lynn Huke.
'It's just like an emptiness, you know,' Baret Yoshida, a pupil of Damian, told FOX 5/KUSI of the loss.
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