Report: Airport lights, weather may have contributed to deadly San Diego plane crash
Weather and malfunctioning airport equipment likely played a role in the crash of a private plane in San Diego last month that killed six people, including a prominent musician. File Photo by Caroline Brehman/EPA-EFE
June 20 (UPI) -- Weather and malfunctioning airport equipment likely played a role in the crash of a private plane in San Diego last month that killed six people, including a prominent musician.
The Runway Alignment Indicator or RAI lights were out of service at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport when the Cessna S550 carrying Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams crashed, according to the preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board.
A notice to fliers issued by the Federal Aviation Administration meant pilots should have been aware the RAI lights had been out of service since March 28, 2022, according to the report.
Weather conditions meant only a half-mile of visibility with a 200-foot ceiling at the time of the deadly crash on May 22.
"The controller informed the pilot that the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at MYF (Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport) was out of service and the pilot acknowledged that he was aware of that," the report reads.
"The pilot then discussed alternate airport weather conditions with the controller in the event he had to perform a missed approach. He stated he would notify SoCal TRACON (air traffic control) of his selection of an alternate airport, but did not do so during the remainder of the flight."
Music agent Dave Shapiro was among those killed and was reportedly flying the plane, which requires only one pilot.
Eight people on the ground suffered minor injuries when the small twin-engine jet crashed near a military housing neighborhood. More than 20 vehicles also were damaged.
The report also indicates the plane was flying too low, with a flight level of approximately 1,190 feet roughly 2.9 nautical miles from the public airport, which is located six miles north of downtown San Diego.
The plane initially struck power lines when it was between 90 and 95 feet above the ground. Most of the wreckage was located 200 feet from that point of contact, with the entire debris field strewn over more than one mile, according to the NTSB report.
The Cessna S550 or Citation II can carry up to seven passengers and was first introduced 1978.
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