6 Killed In Small Plane Crash In Riverside County: Police

MURRIETA, CA — Six people were killed early Saturday when the small plane they were traveling in crashed in Riverside County, according to authorities.

The Cessna C550 business jet crashed around 4:15 a.m. near Auld and Briggs roads near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta, according to the Riverside County Fire Department and the Federal Aviation Administration. Fire officials said the plane went down in a field before bursting into flames.

The fire burned approximately one acre of vegetation and was contained around 5:35 a.m., fire officials said.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said six occupants of the plane were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities did not identify the victims.

This is the second fatal plane crash this month at the small county-owned airport in Murrieta, a city with about 112,000 residents.

After departing from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, the plane crashed during its second approach to French Valley's single runway, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a statement.

The jet, which can seat up to 13 people, crashed about 500 feet (150 meters) short of the intended runway, said Elliott Simpson, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.

“Most of the airplane, with the exception of the tail, was consumed by fire,” Simpson told reporters at an afternoon briefing. Investigators were combing through a debris field about 200 feet (60 meters) long, he said.

Max Trescott, a California flight instructor who hosts the Aviation News Talk podcast, said data from a plane tracking website showed poor visibility in the moments before the crash. Conditions were deteriorating minute-by-minute after the pilot aborted the first landing attempt and circled back for another try, he said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. Five NTSB investigators were expected at the crash site later Saturday, the agency said. A preliminary report was expected in about 15 days.

On July 4 at this same airport, a Temecula pilot died and three people were injured after a single-engine Cessna 172 crashed in a parking lot shortly after takeoff.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.