SAN DIEGO — At least two people are dead and multiple are injured after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood early Thursday morning, according to the San Diego Police Department. About 100 residents were displaced during evacuations. Police said the incident happened just before 4 a.m. in the area of Sample and Salmon Street in Tierrasanta/Murphy Canyon, near Interstate 15 and Aero Drive.. More than ten homes were affected by the crash, according to SDPD. CBS 8 crews on the scene reported seeing large plane parts and heavy smoke around the neighborhood where the plane crashed. The San Diego Police Department and NTSB confirmed that at least two people who were aboard the plane were killed as a result of the crash, and eight were injured. Authorities believe all of the fatalities are people who were on the plane. The FAA said in a statement that said there were believed to be 6 people on board the flight. The privately owned Cessna Citation aircraft was on its way to land at Montgomery Field after fueling in Wichita, Kansas.
What we know about prospective passengers
Records obtained by CBS 8 show the plane, with a tail number of N666DS, is a Cessna Citation built in 1985 and is registered to an Alaska-based LLC named Daviator LLC, which is based in Homer, Alaska, which is located more than 200 miles south of Anchorage. Daviator LLC's sole employee and manager is David Shapiro. Public records show Shapiro, 42, runs an aviation business in El Cajon and owns a home near San Carlos. According to the FAA, Shapiro has been a certified flight instructor since 2010, with his license based in Alaska. In a statement to the Associated Press, the music agency Sound Talent Group said three of its employees died in the crash, including Shapiro, the agency’s co-founder. The agency didn’t share the names of the other two employees who died. “We are devastated by the loss of our co-founder, colleagues and friends. Our hearts go out to their families and to everyone impacted by today’s tragedy,” the agency said in a statement. According to Shapiro's public records, he is a music executive and now owns the record label
Velocity Records . The record label includes popular hardcore bands
Thursday and
D.R.U.G.S. Former The Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams posted three Instagram stories roughly eight hours before the crash, including a photo of the plane with the same tail number of N666DS on Instagram and tagged Shapiro in a post saying “Flying back with @davevelocity.” Williams posted a second photo shortly after, inside the cockpit with the caption, “Hey. Hey… you… look at me… … I’m the (co)pilot now.” His third post, which features him in the cockpit with a steering wheel in front of him, with the caption, “Here we goooooo.” It's currently unknown how many people were on board the plane when it crashed. SDFD is working in conjunction with the Federal Aviation Administration, California Highway Patrol, the San Diego Police Department, the National Transportation Safety Board and the military.
WATCH: Authorities give update on Thursday at 11 a.m.: Road and school closures, evacuation center, power outages
San Diego Police posted on X this afternoon, saying closures are expected overnight. The department also said: "Sculpin (Taussig to Salmon), NB Salmon (to cul-de-sac), & Salmon (3100 blk to Patriot) now open. Still closed: Sample St (entire), Salmon (Sculpin to just S of Sample), Santo Rd (SB Aero–Corporal & both ways to dead end)." SDFD said the incident is now a HAZMAT situation, due to the flow of plane fuel going down neighborhood streets. SDFD has evacuated multiple neighborhoods around the impacted area. Traffic restrictions are in place on Sample Street. The department is working to go through every home the plane had impacted, to assess the damage and ensure no one was hurt. SDFD said the impacted homes were military housing. Police said approximately 100 people were displaced due to the evacuations. Hancock Elementary and Miller Elementary are closed on Thursday. Miller Elementary is acting as an evacuation center for those impacted. Utility crews were also seen fixing power lines that snapped when the plane crashed into them Thursday morning and power restoration is underway.
Community responds to emergency
“On behalf of our city, I extend my condolences to the families and loved ones of those aboard the plane," said San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria in a statement. “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, San Diego Police Department, CalFire and military police for their swift, coordinated response that quickly evacuated residents, extinguished fires, and secured the area to ensure this tragedy was not compounded. San Diego will support the Navy as they assist the residents affected by this tragedy.” The San Diego Humane Society is on the scene, taking care of displaced and injured animals. The organization said it had received reports of dogs possibly being covered in jet fuel. At least 12 pets impacted by the crash were taken to the organization's San Diego Campus.
