Six killed in small plane crash, bursts into flames near Southern California airport
Jul 8, 2023, 2:12 PM
Charred remains of a Cessna lie near the landing approach at French Valley Airport, in Murrieta, Calif., Saturday, July 8, 2023. The Los Angeles Times reports that, according to CalFire, six people died in the crash. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via AP)
MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Six people were killed when a small plane crashed and burst into flames in a field near a Southern California airport before dawn Saturday, authorities said.
The crash of the Cessna C550 business jet occurred around 4:15 a.m. in Murrieta, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
It took firefighters more than an hour to extinguish the flames, which had engulfed the plane and charred about an acre of vegetation just north of French Valley Airport, said the Riverside County Fire Department.
All six people on board died at the scene, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The victims were not immediately identified.
#FrenchValley Critical Incident Plane Crash Investigation
Please stay out of the area.
Road closures at:
Briggs Road and Sky Canyon
Briggs Road and Auld Road
Auld Road and Industry WayClosed until further notice. pic.twitter.com/e0RZTpmaPl
— Riverside County Sheriff (@RSO) July 8, 2023
The plane had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, the FAA said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
It was the second fatal crash this week at the small county-owned airport in Murrieta, home to about 112,000 residents. A man was killed and three people were injured on July Fourth when a single-engine Cessna 172 crashed in a parking lot shortly after takeoff from French Valley.
