Multiple Fatalities After Small Plane Crashes in San Diego

Aircraft went down in a military neighborhood, but no injuries on the ground are reported
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted May 22, 2025 8:36 AM CDT
Updated May 22, 2025 11:22 AM CDT
Plane Crashes in San Diego, Setting Homes Ablaze
Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several blocks early Thursday, May 22, 2025.   (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Multiple people on board a private plane that crashed into a San Diego military housing neighborhood during foggy weather early Thursday are dead, but no one on the ground was injured, authorities said. The plane could hold eight to 10 people, but it's not yet known how many were on board, said Assistant San Diego Fire Chief Dan Eddy, per the AP. Authorities are investigating whether the plane hit a power line, he said.

The aircraft crashed just before 4am into the U.S. military's largest housing neighborhood, appearing to strike at least one home that had a charred and collapsed roof, and smashing through half a dozen vehicles. About 10 homes suffered damage, but no one inside the homes needed transport to the hospital, authorities said. San Diego officials haven't released details about the plane but said it was a flight coming in from the Midwest.

The flight tracking site FlightAware lists a Cessna Citation II jet that was scheduled to arrive at the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport in San Diego at 3:47am from the small Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas. Officials at the airport said it just made a fueling stop in Wichita. The flight originated Wednesday night in Teterboro, New Jersey, according to FlightAware. The neighborhood is made up of single-family homes and townhomes. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, and Gillespie Field are nearby. (This story was updated with new details throughout.)

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