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Free Malaysia Today
13-06-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Several dead in fiery plane crash on California neighbourhood
Debris covers the ground after a small plane crashed into a San Diego housing area, causing fires and forcing evacuations. (AP pic) SAN DIEGO : Several people were killed when a small plane crashed in a California neighbourhood before dawn Thursday, destroying a home and setting more than a dozen cars on fire. At least 10 houses were hit by debris and vehicles on both sides of a street went up in flames when the Cessna 550 slammed into the ground, spewing burning jet fuel in a part of San Diego that is home to military families. San Diego Fire Department assistant chief Dan Eddy told reporters one house had been badly damaged, but that no one on the ground had been seriously hurt. 'When (the plane) hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,' he said. The plane had six people aboard, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration. One of the dead was identified as Dave Shapiro, a music agent who founded San Diego-based Sound Talent Group (STG). The company said two other members of staff who were aboard the plane had also died. 'We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,' an STG spokesperson told US media. The San Diego Police Department said Thursday afternoon that at least two people had died, but first responders at the scene said the plane had been totally destroyed and they expected the toll to rise. 'Engulfed in flames' Yasmine Sierra told AFP how she had helped her neighbours escape their burning house in the middle of the night after being awakened by what she initially thought was an earthquake. 'It looked like all the homes were on fire because I could see the smoke and the flames, it looked like the trees were on fire,' she said. Moments later she heard screams from her neighbours who were trapped in their back garden. 'Me and my son grabbed the ladder, we jumped on our trampoline, and we tried to bounce as much as we possibly could, to throw that ladder over so that they can climb onto the ladder into our backyard,' said Sierra, 35. A woman, two children and two small dogs climbed to safety over the ladder. 'She was very distraught when she came over. I brought her to the front of the house, and I told her that, you know, we needed to leave.' Jeremy Serna, 31, who is in the Navy, said he and his wife had been awoken by a loud bang. 'We looked outside, and the sky was orange. And then I came running outside to see what it was, and everything was on fire over here,' he told AFP. 'I saw the corner house was just engulfed in flames. And then came back over here and told my wife, hey, we have to get out of here.' Thick fog Investigators were combing the scene Thursday, picking through the scattered debris of the plane, which appeared to have broken into hundreds of pieces. Bits of fiberglass were scattered among the twisted and charred remains of cars, and the smell of fuel hung in the air. The accident happened in thick fog when the plane, which had come via Kansas, was nearing the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. It was not immediately clear what had happened, but the fire department's Eddy said a nearby power line appeared to have been clipped. The plane went down around 3.45am, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, striking the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood. The residential area is largely military housing. San Diego is home to US Navy facilities, Marine Corps bases and Coast Guard stations. The accident came at a time of heightened tension in the skies above America. Air traffic control outages have struck the busy Newark airport on the East Coast at least twice in recent weeks, and in January there was a mid-air collision over Washington between a passenger plane and a military helicopter. This month two people died when their small plane crashed into a residential neighbourhood northwest of Los Angeles.
Epoch Times
28-05-2025
- Epoch Times
Coroner Releases Names of San Diego Plane Crash Victims as Investigation Continues
The San Diego County coroner has officially released the names of five of the six people who were killed when a The crash ignited cars parked along a neighborhood block and damaged several homes in the U.S. military's largest housing neighborhood. Five people from a single family were hospitalized for smoke inhalation following the crash, and another person was treated at a hospital for injuries sustained while climbing out of a window trying to flee, said San Diego police. According to the San Diego David Shapiro, 42; Emma Huke, 25; and Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, 36, died of multiple blunt force injuries, according to the coroner. The medical examiner's office is still investigating what caused the death of Dominic Christopher Damian, 41, and Kendall Fortner, 24, who were also traveling in the private jet when it crashed, according to the information released. Related Stories 5/24/2025 5/23/2025 Shapiro had been identified by his company, Sound Talent Group, as its cofounder. Fortner and Huke were two of his employees, the music agency said in a statement. Damian was a software engineer, according to his Fortner and Huke had recently joined Shapiro's agency as booking associates after graduating college, according to bios released by Sound Talent Group. 'We are devastated by the loss of our cofounder, colleagues and friends,' the company wrote in the Shapiro also owned Velocity Records. He had a pilot's license and was listed as the owner of the plane. Another passenger on the flight was allegedly Daniel Williams, although the sixth person has not been officially identified. Williams, a former drummer for metal band The Devil Wears Prada, posted on his Instagram before the flight that he was boarding a plane with Shapiro. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is leading an investigation into the crash. Police officers search the site where a small plane crashed on a San Diego, California, residential street on May 22, 2025. Photo by Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images The flight took off from Teterboro, New Jersey, near Manhattan, at about 11:15 p.m. Wednesday and stopped for fuel in Kansas before continuing to San Diego, according to Elliot Simpson of the NTSB. The plane was arriving at about 3:45 a.m. at the As the pilot approached the runway for an instrument-guided landing, the Cessna Citation hit high-tension power lines about two miles southeast of the airfield, according to the NTSB. 'After impacting the high-tension power lines, the airplane descended and impacted the ground in a residential area,' Dan Baker, senior air safety investigator for the NTSB assigned to the region, Investigators look through the site where a small plane crashed on a San Diego, California, residential street on May 22, 2025. Sandy Huffaker/AFP via Getty Images After coming to a rest on Sample Street, the aircraft burst into flames that destroyed it and damaged nearby vehicles and homes, according to Baker. 'The pilot and passengers were fatally injured,' Baker said, but there were no ground fatalities or serious injuries to people nearby. Initial findings revealed the pilot was attempting to land while the runway lighting systems were out of service, according to investigators. Additionally, the airport's Automated Surface Observing System ( The area was experiencing thick fog, but the wind was calm with a half-mile of visibility, investigators said. The pilot communicated with air traffic controllers to get weather information for a location four miles away before descending, he added. The pilot did not report any problems to air traffic control and did not declare an emergency during the landing, according to the NTSB. The aircraft was not equipped with a flight data recorder, and investigators were still trying to determine if the plane had a cockpit voice recorder. The agency is required to file a preliminary report 30 days after the accident and expects to finalize a report within 12 to 24 months, Baker said.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
2 more victims of private jet crash in San Diego identified by coroner
The names of two more people who were killed when the small private jet on which they were passengers crashed into a San Diego, California, neighborhood last week were released on Sunday. The San Diego Medical Examiner confirmed that 41-year-old Dominic Christopher Damian and 24-year-old Kendall Fortner were among the six people aboard a Cessna 550 jet that crash and burst into flames early Thursday morning in dense fog near Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport. Everyone aboard the plane died, officials said. Eight people on the ground were injured, including five who were treated for smoke inhalation, officials said. Multiple homes were destroyed and several vehicles were damaged, authorities said. The crash occurred about 3:45 a.m. when the private jet clipped powerlines and crashed in San Diego's Murphy Canyon neighborhood seconds before it was to land at the Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport, according to an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the NTSB. On Friday, the Medical Examiner confirmed the identities of three of the people aboard the aircraft who were killed as 42-year-old David Shapiro, 25-year-old Emma Huke, and 36-year-old Celina Kenyon. MORE: Music agency co-founder among dead in San Diego plane crash The identity of the sixth person killed in the cash has not been publicly confirmed by officials. Shapiro was the co-founder of the music talent agency Sound Talent Group, the company said in an earlier statement. The company's statement identified Fortner as a booking associate with the agency but Fortner's identity wasn't officially confirmed by the medical examiner until Sunday. Huke also worked for the talent agency as a booking associate, according to the agency. The plane was flying from Wichita, Kansas, to San Diego when it crashed, officials said. The plane originated in Teterboro, New Jersey, according to FlightRadar24 records. The plane stopped to refuel in Wichita, Kansas, before flying on to San Diego, according to FlightRadar24. San Diego Assistant Fire Chief of Emergency Operations Dan Eddy said at a news conference on Thursday that there was dense fog in the area at the time of the crash. In air traffic control audio transmissions minutes before the crash, the pilot was recorded asking about the weather conditions, according to The NTSB said that the airport's weather reporting system as well as runway lights were both not functioning at the time of the crash. ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report. 2 more victims of private jet crash in San Diego identified by coroner originally appeared on
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
2 more victims of private jet crash in San Diego identified by coroner
The names of two more people who were killed when the small private jet on which they were passengers crashed into a San Diego, California, neighborhood last week were released on Sunday. The San Diego Medical Examiner confirmed that 41-year-old Dominic Christopher Damian and 24-year-old Kendall Fortner were among the six people aboard a Cessna 550 jet that crash and burst into flames early Thursday morning in dense fog near Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport. Everyone aboard the plane died, officials said. Eight people on the ground were injured, including five who were treated for smoke inhalation, officials said. Multiple homes were destroyed and several vehicles were damaged, authorities said. The crash occurred about 3:45 a.m. when the private jet clipped powerlines and crashed in San Diego's Murphy Canyon neighborhood seconds before it was to land at the Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport, according to an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the NTSB. On Friday, the Medical Examiner confirmed the identities of three of the people aboard the aircraft who were killed as 42-year-old David Shapiro, 25-year-old Emma Huke, and 36-year-old Celina Kenyon. MORE: Music agency co-founder among dead in San Diego plane crash The identity of the sixth person killed in the cash has not been publicly confirmed by officials. Shapiro was the co-founder of the music talent agency Sound Talent Group, the company said in an earlier statement. The company's statement identified Fortner as a booking associate with the agency but Fortner's identity wasn't officially confirmed by the medical examiner until Sunday. Huke also worked for the talent agency as a booking associate, according to the agency. The plane was flying from Wichita, Kansas, to San Diego when it crashed, officials said. The plane originated in Teterboro, New Jersey, according to FlightRadar24 records. The plane stopped to refuel in Wichita, Kansas, before flying on to San Diego, according to FlightRadar24. San Diego Assistant Fire Chief of Emergency Operations Dan Eddy said at a news conference on Thursday that there was dense fog in the area at the time of the crash. In air traffic control audio transmissions minutes before the crash, the pilot was recorded asking about the weather conditions, according to The NTSB said that the airport's weather reporting system as well as runway lights were both not functioning at the time of the crash. ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report. 2 more victims of private jet crash in San Diego identified by coroner originally appeared on
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Yahoo
2 more victims of private jet crash in San Diego identified by coroner
The names of two more people who were killed when the small private jet on which they were passengers crashed into a San Diego, California, neighborhood last week were released on Sunday. The San Diego Medical Examiner confirmed that 41-year-old Dominic Christopher Damian and 24-year-old Kendall Fortner were among the six people aboard a Cessna 550 jet that crash and burst into flames early Thursday morning in dense fog near Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport. Everyone aboard the plane died, officials said. Eight people on the ground were injured, including five who were treated for smoke inhalation, officials said. Multiple homes were destroyed and several vehicles were damaged, authorities said. The crash occurred about 3:45 a.m. when the private jet clipped powerlines and crashed in San Diego's Murphy Canyon neighborhood seconds before it was to land at the Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport, according to an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the NTSB. On Friday, the Medical Examiner confirmed the identities of three of the people aboard the aircraft who were killed as 42-year-old David Shapiro, 25-year-old Emma Huke, and 36-year-old Celina Kenyon. MORE: Music agency co-founder among dead in San Diego plane crash The identity of the sixth person killed in the cash has not been publicly confirmed by officials. Shapiro was the co-founder of the music talent agency Sound Talent Group, the company said in an earlier statement. The company's statement identified Fortner as a booking associate with the agency but Fortner's identity wasn't officially confirmed by the medical examiner until Sunday. Huke also worked for the talent agency as a booking associate, according to the agency. The plane was flying from Wichita, Kansas, to San Diego when it crashed, officials said. The plane originated in Teterboro, New Jersey, according to FlightRadar24 records. The plane stopped to refuel in Wichita, Kansas, before flying on to San Diego, according to FlightRadar24. San Diego Assistant Fire Chief of Emergency Operations Dan Eddy said at a news conference on Thursday that there was dense fog in the area at the time of the crash. In air traffic control audio transmissions minutes before the crash, the pilot was recorded asking about the weather conditions, according to The NTSB said that the airport's weather reporting system as well as runway lights were both not functioning at the time of the crash. ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report. 2 more victims of private jet crash in San Diego identified by coroner originally appeared on
