Several dead after plane crashes on California neighbourhood

Investigators look through the site where a small plane crashed on a San Diego, California, residential street. Photo / AFP

Several people were killed when a small plane crashed on to a California neighbourhood before dawn on Thursday (local time), destroying a home and setting more than a dozen cars on fire.

At least 10 houses were hit by debris and cars on both sides of one street went up in flames when the Cessna 550 slammed into the ground spewing burning jet fuel everywhere in a part of San Diego that is home to military families.

San Diego Fire Department Assistant Chief Dan Eddy told reporters one house had been badly damaged, but that no one on the ground had been seriously hurt, with the two dead aboard the plane.

“When [the plane] hit the street, as the jet fuel went down, it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,” he said.

“We have jet fuel all over the place.”

One of the dead was named as Dave Shapiro, a music agent who founded San Diego-based Sound Talent Group (STG).

The company said two other members of staff who were aboard the plane had also died.

“We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends,” an STG spokesperson told US media.

Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy.”

There was no official confirmation of the death toll, but first responders at the scene said the plane – versions of which can carry up to 10 people, including the pilots – had been totally destroyed and they expected the toll to rise.

‘Engulfed in flames’

Yasmine Sierra told AFP how she had helped her neighbours escape their burning house in the middle of the night after being woken by what she initially thought was an earthquake.

“It looked like all the homes were on fire because I could see the smoke and the flames, it looked like the trees were on fire,” she said.

Moments later, she heard screams from her neighbours who were trapped in their back garden.

“Me and my son grabbed the ladder, we jumped on our trampoline, and we tried to bounce as much as we possibly could, to throw that ladder over so that they can climb onto the ladder into our backyard,” said Sierra, 35.

A woman, two children and two small dogs climbed to safety over the ladder.

“She was very distraught when she came over. I brought her to the front of the house, and I told her that, you know, we needed to leave.”

Jeremy Serna, 31, who is in the Navy, said he and his wife had been awoken by a loud bang.

“We looked outside, and the sky was orange. And then I came running outside to see what it was, and everything was on fire over here,” he told AFP.

“I saw the corner house was just engulfed in flames. And then came back over here and told my wife, hey, we have to get out of here.

“It was pretty scary.”

Footage of the immediate aftermath of the crash showed a line of burning fuel linking cars that were entirely in flames.

Thick fog

Investigators were combing the scene on Thursday, picking through the scattered debris of the plane, which appeared to have broken into hundreds of pieces.

Bits of fibreglass were scattered among the twisted and charred remains of cars, and the smell of fuel hung in the air.

The accident happened in thick fog when the plane, which had come from Kansas, was nearing the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

It was not immediately clear what had happened, but Eddy said a nearby power line appeared to have been clipped.

The plane, which can carry up to eight people, went down around 3.45am, according to the Federal Aviation Administration, striking the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood.