News & Current Events
San Diego Plane Crash: Investigators Cite Fog, Power Outage, And Pilot Decisions In Fatal Incident
Potential contributing factors to the tragedy have been identified by investigators investigating why a private plane crashed into a San Diego neighbourhood this week.
The small jet struck a house in Murphy Canyon, close to Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, at approximately 3.45 a.m. local time on May 22. The impact destroyed one house, damaged ten others, and forced evacuations along many streets.
The hit property was totally demolished, with its roof partially collapsed and its front extensively burned.
Along with two of his staff members from Sound Talent Group, Emma Huke and Kendall Fortner, was talent music agent Dave Shapiro, who is thought to have been the plane’s pilot.
Along with Shapiro’s buddy Dominic Damian and photographer Celina Kenyon, the jet also carried drummer Daniel Williams, a former member of the metal band The Devil Wears Prada, headquartered in Ohio.
No one survived.
Despite highlighting two potential contributing causes, the administration has not yet confirmed a cause for the incident, according to Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
He clarified that the pilot is thought to have been aware of the foggy conditions, but the weather alert system at the airfield the plane had wanted to land at was down because of a power spike before the incident.
Instead, the aircraft’s operator got weather data from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, four miles to the north.
Additionally, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport’s runway lights went out due to the power outage.
The precision approach path indicator and the medium intensity light system with runway light indicator lights were not operational as the pilot reportedly struggled with foggy circumstances prior to sunrise.
Former NTSB and Federal Aviation Administration accident investigator Jeff Guzzetti hypothesised that the pilot, who is thought to have flown all night, may have been fatigued and the dense fog contributed to the event.
Speaking to PBS, he said, “This accident has all the earmarks of a classic attempt to approach an airport in really bad weather and poor visibility. And there were other airports that the crew could have gone to.”
The owner of the land where the plane crashed, Ben McCarty, described how an explosion woke him and his wife up in the wee hours of the morning.
He told ABC’s KGTV: “All I could see was fire. The roof of the house was still on fire. You could see the night sky from our living room.”
Meanwhile a spokesman for Sound Talent Group issued the following statement to the BBC: “We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends.”
“Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy. Thank you so much for respecting their privacy at this time.”
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