Latest news with #Cessna550Citation
NBC News
08-06-2025
- General
- NBC News
After a jet crashed into their neighborhood, some survivors say their emotional recovery is stunted by living so close to a busy airport. Ariana Drehsler for NBC News; AP U.S. news A jet crashed into their neighborhood. Now they live in dread below an active flight path. 'We hold our breath now every time a plane goes over,' said Srujana McCarty, who was sleeping when the private jet hit her family's San Diego home.
June 8, 2025, 7:00 AM EDT By Melissa Chan Srujana McCarty shields her head with her hands when an aircraft flies overhead. It's an involuntary reaction now, much like how her neighbors Aislyn Maupin and Renee Rivera freeze up and fixate on passing planes and jets until they're out of sight. They know it's improbable for an aircraft to plummet from the sky above them. But one did two weeks ago as they slept. On May 22, a pilot attempting to land a private jet at an airport nearby struck power lines and crashed into their San Diego military housing neighborhood, killing all six passengers on board, officials said. While the lives on the ground were spared, the disaster displaced dozens of families and shattered their sense of safety. McCarty's and Rivera's children still see the phantom flames down their hallways and streets. 'It's a new fear unlocked,' McCarty said. The survivors are trying to recover. But they live below an active flight path about 2 miles from the airport. About every 30 minutes, an aircraft roars above and brings them back to the morning fire roused them out of bed. 'It terrifies me knowing that we have planes coming over here all day, all the time,' Rivera said. 'It's a lot to be reminded of every single day.' 'Everything on fire all at once' On the night of the crash, before McCarty and her husband, Ben, went to sleep, they tucked in their two young sons, put their dogs in crates, locked their doors and set the alarm. 'Everything was set up for their safety,' said Ben McCarty, 33, who has served in the Navy for 13 years. Stillness fell over Murphy Canyon, home to more than 4,900 Navy families in one of the largest military housing complexes in the world. Then, just before 4 a.m., a Cessna 550 Citation jet slammed into the front yard of the McCartys' home, partially collapsing their roof and thrusting one of their trucks into the living room. Waves of heat from the fire instantly penetrated their bedroom, jolting them awake. 'The impact rushed over me,' Ben McCarty said. 'I felt like this strong wind or force, the heat.' Srujana McCarty, 32, let out a nightmarish shriek. But outside, the deafening booms from exploding cars and the panicked voices of other neighbors screaming to find their children drowned her out. The couple grabbed their sons, ages 2 and 4, and their dogs. The path to the front door was blocked by fire. The wall where their wedding photos hung was crumbling and burning, so the family fled out the back. Next door, Maupin was in a deep sleep when her 14-year-old daughter barged into her bedroom, screaming about a fire outside of her open window. In disbelief, Maupin looked outside and found a hellscape. 'The whole street was just in flames,' she said. Jet fuel snaked down the street, setting every vehicle in its path ablaze, law enforcement officials said. 'Everything on fire all at once,' San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl told reporters. 'It was pretty horrific to see.' Maupin said people were knocking on doors, telling people their homes were on fire. 'People were pushing us and telling us we had to go this way,' she said. Maupin and her daughter helped their neighbors evacuate, each taking a baby to safeguard. Maupin remembers seeing a young woman, standing alone in the middle of the street, paralyzed in fear. 'People were screaming, 'Where are my kids?'' she said. 'Things are exploding everywhere.' Nearby, Rivera heard banging on her front door. She had seen the light from the explosion but thought it must have been lightning. 'I never in a million years thought a plane hit the ground,' she said. Half asleep, Rivera, 28, herded her 2-year-old asthmatic daughter, grandmother, two dogs and two guinea pigs into a car. As she drove away, she thought of all the children in the neighborhood. Her heart sank, thinking there was no way everyone in the neighborhood would survive. But miraculously no one on the ground was killed. 'Seeing it happen firsthand right in front of you,' she said, 'it changes everything.' McCarty replays each moment of her family's escape when she suddenly wakes up every morning around 3:45 a.m. at roughly the time of the crash. The sleepless nights are hard, but so are the days when planes seem to be constantly flying overhead. 'We hold our breath now every time a plane goes over,' she said. The McCartys are staying in a temporary house in the same military housing community until they're able to move into a new unit in about a week. They had only one plea for those tasked with their relocation. 'We asked to get out of the flight path,' Ben McCarty said. 'It was the No. 1 priority for both of us — anywhere away from the flight path.' Their neighbor, Thomas Lawrence, said his three young children had the same request. 'We had to change streets because they didn't want to live close to the scene of the crash anymore,' he said. 'It was unanimous. Even I didn't want to go back either.' Life under a flight path The Navy families live in the shadow of Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, which primarily serves small aircraft and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to its website. The airport sees more than 386,000 takeoffs and landings a year. The six passengers aboard the private jet were headed there from New Jersey, the National Transportation Safety Board said. Their cross-country flight was about 2 miles southeast of the airfield when, amid dense fog, the jet struck high-tension power lines and went down around 3:47 a.m., officials said. There were no survivors aboard. Music talent agent Dave Shapiro, 42, was killed, as were two employees of his Sound Talent Group, Kendall Fortner, 24, and Emma Huke, 25, according to the city's medical examiner's office. The crash also killed Daniel Williams, 39, a drummer for the band The Devil Wears Prada; Dominic Damian, 41, a software engineer; and Celina Kenyon, 36, a photographer. The cause of the crash is under investigation. A spokesperson for the NTSB said the agency expects to release its preliminary report in the next few weeks. In the immediate aftermath, it displaced about 100 residents, Wahl, the police chief, said. About 39 families were temporarily relocated, and two homes were significantly damaged, according to Gail Miller, chief operating officer of Liberty Military Housing, which provides homes for the families. Miller said the housing provider worked closely with the families to determine their preferences, recognizing that many would not want to return to their original units. Today, Miller said, 31 families have either returned to their original home in Murphy Canyon or have accepted a new home in the same community or elsewhere. The crash was the latest in a string of deadly aviation accidents this year that has sparked fear and unease. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has said the skies are safe, pointing to 35 million annual flights that occur in the U.S. with very few incidents. An NBC News analysis of federal data also shows that incidents and deaths on flights have not been rising compared with previous years, and that the number of deaths aboard aircraft in the U.S. is also on the decline. Still, for survivors triggered by the sight of an aircraft, the statistics do little to ease anxieties. In the aftermath of some cases of aviation trauma, constant exposure to planes and jets can be helpful in overcoming fears, but for others, the overexposure can prevent recovery, said Jessica Auslander, a North Carolina-based psychologist with the Centre for Aviation Psychology. 'The brain becomes hypervigilant for any other future signs of danger, to protect ourselves,' she said. 'It has basically learned, hey, this is possible. How can we keep ourselves safe?' Symptoms are most intense in the first few weeks after the incident but generally ease within one to three months, Auslander said. To help get the families back on their feet, the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society said it has provided more than $80,000 in emergency assistance to more than 80 families affected by the crash. The funds have gone toward insurance deductibles, uniform replacement, temporary housing costs, food and household essentials, said retired Navy Rear Adm. Dawn Cutler, the nonprofit's chief operations officer. 'It's going to be a road to recovery,' Cutler said. For the families beginning to settle into their new homes, the emotional healing comes next. Maupin grew up in the area by the airport, desensitized to planes. Now, when one passes, she says, 'everything stops and I just dissociate.' 'It's hard to conceptualize knowing you were so close to no longer being here anymore,' she said. Rivera closes her eyes when she has to drive by the scene of the crash to leave the area. But her 2-year-old daughter stares directly at it. 'She says there's fire, there's fire everywhere,' Rivera said, adding that her daughter will begin seeing a therapist. The McCartys, too, said they plan to seek counseling. 'We've somehow shut down and went numb just so we can move on,' Srujana McCarty said. Her husband said the crash has left him feeling helpless. When they were looking for their replacement home, he said, his family's protection was the only thing that mattered. 'We didn't look if the kitchen was big,' he said. 'We looked in the backyard and said, where is the escape route?' Melissa Chan Melissa Chan is a reporter for NBC News Digital with a focus on veterans' issues, mental health in the military and gun violence.
Indian Express
25-05-2025
- General
- Indian Express
San Diego plane crash killed multiple musicians: What we know about it
A private jet en route California's San Diego which hit a power line in foggy weather and crashed early Thursday (local time) claimed the lives all six people on board. The impact of the crash also set ablaze multiple homes and vehicles, and forced evacuations across several blocks in the area. The pilot and passengers including multiple up and coming musicians died, but no one on the ground was killed or seriously injured. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the aircraft was a Cessna 550, which typically carries six to eight people. The incident occurred in the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood, just 3 kilometres from Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. The twin-engine Cessna 550 Citation took off from New Jersey, stopping for fuel in Kansas before heading toward San Diego. It crashed after clipping power lines in thick fog around 10.30 pm. Although eight people on the ground sustained injuries, none were serious. The pilot had acknowledged poor weather conditions during communication with air traffic control. In audio shared by the pilot is heard contemplating a diversion: 'Doesn't sound great, but we'll give it a go,' he said. The Federal Aviation Administration had issued a notice that the airport's runway lights were not operational at the time. The pilot didn't mention this to air traffic control but acknowledged being aware that the weather alert system was down. Thick fog had reduced visibility to near zero, according to Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy. 'You could barely see in front of you.' This crash adds to a series of fatal aviation incidents in the US in the recent times. Earlier this year, a collision between a passenger jet and an Army helicopter in Washington claimed 67 lives—the deadliest crash in more than two decades. Several smaller aircraft incidents across Alaska, Philadelphia, and the Hudson River have also taken place. (With inputs from AP)
1News
25-05-2025
- 1News
Airport runway lights weren't working before San Diego crash killed six
The runway lights were out, a weather alert system wasn't working and there was heavy fog at a San Diego airport when a pilot who had flown across the country made the decision to proceed with landing but came up short and crashed into a neighbourhood, likely killing all six aboard the aircraft, investigators said. Investigator Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board said officials will work over the next year to determine what caused the Cessna 550 Citation to crash just before 4am Thursday (local time). The jet was carrying a music executive and five others. No one in the neighbourhood of US Navy housing died, but eight people were treated for smoke inhalation from the fiery crash and non-life-threatening injuries. The pilot acknowledged the weather conditions for landing at the small airport were not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport while discussing the visibility with an air traffic controller at a regional Federal Aviation Administration control tower, according to audio of the conversation posted by The FAA had posted an official notice for pilots that the lights were out of service, but it's not known whether the pilot had checked it. He didn't discuss the lights being out with air traffic control but was aware that the airport's weather alert system was inoperable. Ultimately, the pilot is heard saying that he'll stick with the plan to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. "Doesn't sound great but we'll give it a go," he told the air traffic controller. The plane crashed about 3.22km from the airport. Baker said a power surge knocked out the weather system at the airport, but the pilot was aware of the fog and an air traffic controller gave him weather information from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, about 6.44km north. Music talent agent Dave Shapiro, and two employees of the music agency he co-founded, Sound Talent Group, were among the dead along with the former drummer for metal band The Devil Wears Prada. Shapiro, 42, had a pilot's license and was listed as the owner of the plane. The two employees who died were Kendall Fortner, 24, and Emma Huke, 25, both Southern California natives and booking associates for the agency. The crash added to a long list of aviation disasters this year while federal officials have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation, which statistics support. Shapiro's aircraft took off from Teterboro, New Jersey, near Manhattan, at about 11.15pm local time Wednesday and made a fuel stop in Wichita, Kansas, before continuing on to San Diego. He was returning to San Diego after a band he manages, Pierce The Veil, played for a sold-out audience at Madison Square Garden. That overnight schedule wouldn't be allowed for an airliner under federal crew rest rules, but those regulations don't apply to private planes. Assistant San Diego Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said the fog was so thick in the morning that "you could barely see in front of you". Former NTSB and FAA crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti said he thinks dense fog and fatigue after the pilot flew all night long were likely factors in the crash. "This accident has all the earmarks of a classic attempt to approach an airport in really bad weather and poor visibility," Guzzetti said. "And there were other airports that the crew could have gone to." He said pilots are required to check FAA posts called Notices to Airmen that alert pilots to any issues such as runway lights being out. "It's fairly easy for the pilot to get that information and they are required to get that information before any flight they take," Guzzetti said. The pilot also would have likely noticed the lights weren't working as he descended. Without lights, procedure dictated that he should have climbed and diverted to another airport, Guzzetti said. Fragments of the plane were found under power lines that are about a half block from the homes. It went on to lose a wing on the road directly behind the homes. Guzzetti said even if the plane had missed the power lines it may have still crashed because it was coming in too low in the fog. The crash site shows more damage on the front side of homes, including a smashed stone landscaping wall and an incinerated truck that was parked across the street and shoved into the living room of its owner's home before catching fire. Ben McCarty and his wife, who live in the home that was hit, said they felt heat all around them after being woken up by an explosion. "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," McCarty, who has served in the Navy for 13 years, told local ABC affiliate KGTV. Flames blocked many of the exits so they grabbed their children and dogs and ran out the back but the burning debris blocked the gate so neighbours helped them climb over the fence to escape. "We got the kids over the fence and then I jumped over the fence. They brought a ladder and we got the dogs," McCarty said. Meanwhile, fiery jet fuel rolled down the block igniting everything in its path from trees to plastic trash containers to car after car. McCarty's home was the only one destroyed, though another 10 residences suffered damage, authorities said. McCarty said his family used to enjoy living under the flight path so they could watch the planes pass overhead. "Us and our kids would sit on our front porch and we'd look up and my sons would always be excited saying 'plane plane' watching the planes go by and ironically right where we were sitting is where that plane hit," McCarty said. Now, he wants to move. "I'm not going to live over that flight line again — it's going to be hard to sleep at night," McCarty said. Guzzetti said in his experience there often aren't deaths on the ground when a plane crashes in a residential area unless people are right where the plane hits such as in Philadelphia in January. At least 100 residents in the San Diego neighborhood were evacuated and officials said it was unclear when it would be safe for people to return. Thursday's crash comes only weeks after a small plane crashed into a neighborhood in Simi Valley northwest of Los Angeles, killing both people and a dog aboard the aircraft but leaving no one on the ground injured. In October 2021 a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb, killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes.
Mint
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Mint
San Diego plane crash news: What we know about six victims who died on board
A private plane with six people onboard crashed while approaching an airport in the San Diego neighbourhood resulting in the deaths of six individuals, including music executive Dave Shapiro. According to a report by AP, Shapiro was a cofounder of Sound Talent Group, an influential music agency representing bands such as Pierce The Veil, Parkway Drive, and Sum 41, along with pop artists like Vanessa Carlton. Headed from New Jersey to San Diego with a fueling stop in Kansas, the plane went down about 2 miles (3 kilometres) from San Diego's Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Eight people on the ground were hurt, none seriously. 'The Cessna 550 Citation crashed after hitting power lines,' Baker said, as reported by AP. The pilot acknowledged to an air traffic controller that the weather was not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport, according an audio recording posted online by Investigators say it may take up to a year to determine the exact cause of the plane crash, though early findings point to several contributing factors — including dense fog, malfunctioning runway lights, and a broken weather alert system, according to Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). All six people on board, including the pilot, were killed, but fortunately, no one on the ground was seriously injured. Dave Shapiro: Shapiro, 42, got into music playing in a band he founded with friends while in high school, called Count with Stars. Shapiro helped bring the underground $10-a-show alternative scene of the 2010s to the mainstream. 'He also was huge in creating a community,' said Mike Shea, founder of Alternative Press Magazine, the Associated Press reported. Fortner, 24, and Huke, 25, joined Shapiro's agency as booking associates after graduating from college, according to bios released by Sound Talent Group, which confirmed both women were on the plane, AP reported. Huke, too, knew from a young age that she wanted to work in the industry, and she worked hard to save money to attend concerts and festivals. Williams was a former drummer for The Devil Wears Prada, a well-known metalcore band from Ohio recognized for blending melodic punk rock with heavy metal influences. 'When Williams was in the band, that's when they really broke out,' said Shea. Kenyon, 36, was another passenger, according to the coroner's office in San Diego. A spokesperson for Sound Talent Group said she was not an employee. Bryan Charles Feldman, Kenyon's father, said in a statement to AP that she was respected in her career as a professional photographer. Also among the victims was 41-year-old Damian, as confirmed by the coroner's office on Saturday. When Williams was in the band, that's when they really broke out. The Training Center, a martial arts school in San Diego where Damian trained, paid tribute to him on Instagram. The gym announced it will hold an open-mat session in his memory on Monday. (With inputs from Associated Press) He also was huge in creating a community.
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
What we know about the plane crash that killed 6, including alternative music executive Dave Shapiro
SAN DIEGO — A plane crash in San Diego that killed six people, including groundbreaking alternative music executive Dave Shapiro, happened as the private plane approached an airport whose runway lights were out in heavy fog, investigators said. It could take a year to sort out exactly what happened to the plane that hit power lines and crashed into a neighborhood just before 4 a.m. Thursday. But investigators know there was thick fog, problems with the runway lights and a broken weather alert system, Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board said. Shapiro's death stunned the heavy metal and hard rock scene that grew out of the punk movement. The music agency he cofounded, Sound Talent Group, represented groups like Pierce The Veil, Parkway Drive, Sum 41 but also ventured into more pop acts like Hanson and Vanessa Carlton. Baker said Friday that the plane's pilot and passengers were killed in the crash. 'There were no ground fatalities or serious injuries," he said. Also killed were Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the popular Ohio metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, as well as two employees of Shapiro's agency: Kendall Fortner, 24, and Emma Huke, 25. A fifth passenger, 36-year-old Celina Marie Rose Kenyon, has also been identified by the coroner's office in San Diego as one of the victims aboard the plane. Kenyon was not an employee of Sound Talent Group, a spokesperson for the agency confirmed Saturday. The coroner's office has not yet released information on the sixth victim. The plane was headed from New Jersey to San Diego after a fueling stop in Kansas. It crashed about 2 miles from San Diego's Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Eight people on the ground were hurt, none seriously. The Cessna 550 Citation went down after hitting power lines, Baker said. The pilot of the plane acknowledged to an air traffic controller that the weather was not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport, according to audio of the conversation posted by The Federal Aviation Administration posted an official notice that the runway lights at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport were out. The pilot didn't discuss that with the controller but did mention he knew the airport's weather alert system wasn't working. 'Doesn't sound great, but we'll give it a go,' he told the air traffic controller. The fog was so thick around the time of the crash that 'you could barely see in front of you," Assistant San Diego Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said. Officials have not said who was flying the plane. Shapiro was listed as the plane's owner and had a pilot's license. Shapiro, 42, got into the music industry playing in the band, Count with Stars, he founded with friends while in high school. It was the connections he made more than the music he played that made him successful. Shapiro helped bring the underground $10-a-show alternative scene in the 2010s to the mainstream. But he also was huge in creating a community, said Mike Shea, founder of Alternative Press Magazine. 'In this music industry, there are just too many people ripping people off and using people,' he said. 'Dave was not like that. He was a beautiful soul, and beautiful person, a guiding force, just someone who would end up being an inspiration." Even with all his famous clients, Shapiro stayed warm, genuine and interested in bringing new bands to a wide audience. 'He would listen to any band you put in front of him to give them a chance,' said Dayna Ghiraldi-Travers, founder of public relations agency Big Picture Media, who worked with Shapiro for over 15 years. The U.S. saw its deadliest plane crash in more than 23 years in January when an American Airlines passenger jet and a U.S. Army helicopter collided in Washington. The crash killed every passenger on each aircraft, a total of 67 people. A sightseeing helicopter broke apart and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey last month, killing six people, while a small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska in early February, killing all 10 people on board. In Philadelphia, a medical transport plane that had just taken off plummeted into a neighborhood in late January, killing all six people on board and two people on the ground.
