Six people died after a plane crashed over a southern California field on Saturday morning before bursting into flames.
The plane was engulfed in fire along with about one acre of vegetation when deputies arrived. The plane crashed near an airport in the city of Murrieta, California, in south-west Riverside county, about 85 miles (136.79 km) south of Los Angeles.
The flight had originally departed from the Harry Reid international airport in Las Vegas before crashing into the field, KTLA reported. The plane was a a Cessna C550 business jet, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The six plane passengers were pronounced dead at the scene shortly after authorities found the burning plane after 4.15am, according to the Riverside county fire department. The identities of those killed in the crash have not been released.
Radar data from flight tracking website FlightAware shows just one business jet traveling from Las Vegas to French Valley at the time. That plane circled once near the field before descending.
A tweet posted by Cal Fire/Riverside county fire department said the plane crashed and caught fire, burning about an acre of vegetation.
Aircraft Emergency:rpt@4:16 a.m. Auld Road X Briggs Road in French Valley. Cessna aircraft down in a field, fully involved in fire. The fire burned approximately one acre of vegetation, was contained at 5:35 a.m. and the incident has been turned over to RSO and the FAA. Please… pic.twitter.com/szG5HLH4n7
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) July 8, 2023
Max Trescott, a California flight instructor who hosts the Aviation News Talk podcast, said data from a plane tracking website showed poor visibility in the moments before the crash. Conditions were deteriorating minute-by-minute after the pilot aborted the first landing attempt and circled back for another try, he said.
“The weather did get worse during the time they were making their two approaches,” Trescott told the Los Angeles Times.
It wasn’t clear why the pilot attempted to land on the second approach.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the crash. Five NTSB investigators were expected at the crash site later Saturday, the agency said. A preliminary report was expected in about 15 days.
Heavy fog blanketed the area on Saturday morning, reported KTLA, which may have caused the aircraft to miss the runway by several hundred yards.
The Saturday morning crash marked the second fatal crash near the French Valley airport in Riverside county. One man was killed and three were injured when a plane struck the side of a building by the airport on Tuesday.
• This article was amended on 9 July 2023 to replace the main image with one showing the Cessna crash, rather than one of a crash earlier in the week, also near the French Valley airport in Riverside county.
