NTSB: Weather alert system, runway lights weren’t working at San Diego airport where jet planned to land before crash

SAN DIEGO AP The weather alert system and runway lights weren t working at a foggy San Diego airport where a private jet was planning to land before it crashed into a neighborhood but the cause of the crash remains unclear administrators disclosed Friday Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board also mentioned investigators haven t determined a cause of Thursday s crash that likely killed all six people aboard Baker noted the weather alert system at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport was down at the time of the crash due to an unrelated power surge He revealed the pilot instead got weather information from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar about miles kilometers north but he was aware of the fog The runway lights were also down The plane crashed about miles kilometers from the airport Music talent agent Dave Shapiro and two unnamed employees of the music agency he co-founded Sound Talent Group were among the dead along with the former drummer for metal band The Devil Wears Prada Shapiro had a pilot s license and was listed as the owner of the Cessna Citation that plowed into the neighborhood of U S Navy housing shortly before a m Thursday The crash added to a long list of aviation disasters this year They include a midair collision that killed people near Washington D C in January an airliner that clipped another plane in February while taxiing at the Seattle airport and a sightseeing helicopter that broke apart and crashed into the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey last month killing six people Federal executives have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation which statistics sponsorship But a cascade of aviation mishaps has drawing increasing attention Shapiro s aircraft was trying to land in foggy weather at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport when it struck power lines about miles kilometers southeast of the airfield Elliot Simpson of the National Transportation Safety Board The flight took off from Teterboro New Jersey near Manhattan at about p m Wednesday and made a fuel stop in Wichita Kansas before continuing on to San Diego That overnight schedule wouldn t be allowed for an airliner under federal crew rest rules but those regulations don t apply to private planes Former NTSB and FAA crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti noted he thinks the dense fog and fatigue after Shapiro flew all night long were likely factors in the crash This accident has all the earmarks of a classic attempt to approach an airport in really bad weather and poor visibility Guzzetti reported And there were other airports that the crew could have gone to Fragments of the plane were detected under power lines that are about a half block from the homes It then lost a wing on the road directly behind the homes Guzzetti explained even if the plane had missed the power lines it may have still crashed because it was coming in too low in the fog A terrifying wakeup The crash site shows more damage on the front side of those homes including a smashed stone landscaping wall and an incinerated truck that was parked across the street and shoved into the living room of its owner s home before catching fire Ben McCarty and his wife who live in the home that was hit reported they felt heat all around them after being woken up by an explosion All I could see was fire The roof of the house was still on fire You could see the night sky from our living room McCarty who has served in the Navy for years recounted local ABC affiliate KGTV Flames blocked multiple of the exits so they grabbed their children and dogs and ran out the back but the burning debris blocked the gate so neighbors helped them climb over the fence to escape We got the kids over the fence and then I jumped over the fence They brought a ladder and we got the dogs McCarty reported Meanwhile fiery jet fuel rolled down the block igniting everything in its path from trees to plastic trash containers to car after car McCarty s home was the only one destroyed though another residences suffered damage agents disclosed Eight residents were taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and injuries that were not life-threatening including a person who was hurt climbing out a window police officer Anthony Carrasco stated McCarty reported his family used to enjoy living under the flight path so they could watch the planes pass overhead Us and our kids would sit on our front porch and we d look up and my sons would perpetually be excited saying plane plane watching the planes go by and ironically right where we were sitting is where that plane hit McCarty explained Now he wants to move I m not going to live over that flight line again it s going to be hard to sleep at night McCarty explained It could have been much worse NTSB investigators are gathering evidence to determine what happened Given it happened in a densely populated suburban area and the time of day when bulk people are asleep at home it is surprising there were no deaths on the ground Rod Sullivan a transportation expert declared But Guzzetti revealed in his experience there often aren t deaths on the ground when a plane crashes in a residential area unless people are right where the plane hits The crash of a health travel flight into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January shows what can happen when there is a direct hit in a populated area Two people on the ground died and about two dozen others were hurt when that plane slammed into the ground and caught fire Six people abord that plane also died At least residents in the San Diego neighborhood were evacuated and officers declared it was unclear when it would be safe for people to return On Friday selected residents were escorted back to their homes to get essentials like their military IDs to get back on bases after they left them in the rush to escape Thursday s crash comes only weeks after a similar one in Southern California A small plane crashed into a neighborhood in Simi Valley on May killing both people and a dog aboard the aircraft and igniting two homes but no one was stated hurt on the ground despite residents being inside the residences at the time The public is located nearly miles kilometers northwest of Los Angeles In October a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes