Terrifying new video shows the moment a small Cessna Skyhawk crashed onto the runway at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego, erupting into a massive fireball.
The aircraft crashed Monday evening while apparently attempting to land. According to an initial FAA report, the plane’s left wing dipped before it appeared to stall and spin into the ground.
Eyewitnesses Mauricio Godinez and Melizza Cardiel Godinez were near a hangar when they heard a loud boom.
When they rushed outside, they saw the aircraft engulfed in flames. Cardiel attempted to approach the wreckage to help, but the intense fire made it impossible to get close.
“The flames was just too much,” she recalled.
Two people aboard the aircraft were killed. Their identities have not yet been released.
The NTSB and FAA are investigating the crash, with investigators examining the wreckage and surrounding scene for clues about what caused the aircraft to lose control. A final determination is not expected for several weeks.
The tragedy came just two days after another deadly California plane crash near Fresno, where four people—including a flight instructor, her husband and their two sons—were killed.
