Six people were killed in a Southern California plane crash on Saturday.
The private aircraft made impact in the early morning, according to apress releasefrom the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Deputies responded to the Murrieta field crash site around 4:15 a.m., per the release. When they arrived, the jet was completely engulfed in flames.
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Six victims were located and pronounced dead at the scene, the release stated.
The Riverside County Coroner’s Office identified the individuals as Alma Razick, 51, Ibrahem Razick, 46, Lindsey Gleiche, 31, Manuel Vargas-Regalado, 32, Abigail Tellez-Vargas, 33, and Riese Lenders, 25.
The 45-minute flight departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, KTLA reported.
The pilot informed air traffic control that he would be performing a “missed approach” (a procedure that generally occurs when runways are not visible), the NTSB explained at a press conference on Saturday, per KTLA.
When heavy fog (like the conditions observed on Saturday morning) blankets Murrieta, it is “almost like a whiteout if you’re in the hills,” Patrick O’Neil, a manager of a local plant nursery told the outlet.
“You couldn’t see probably two to five feet in front of you,” the California man told KTLA, adding that “it’s almost like you’re driving blindfolded.”
A small fire erupted in the field as a result of the crash, but firefighters were able to extinguish it after about an hour, the Riverside County Fire Department shared in atweet. It burned approximately one acre of vegetation, the department said.
French Valley Airport will remain closed for an unspecified amount of time while the crash investigation is underway, Angela Jamison, a manager at the airport, confirmed toABC News. A preliminary report on the investigation will be published in about two weeks.
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The incident was the second of two crashes that occurred near the Riverside County airport this week.
On Tuesday, a California man named Jared Newman was piloting a private aircraft when itcrashednear the airport. The 39-year-old had just became a certified pilot last month, NTSBinformed PEOPLE.
Jared Newman and his family in a photo shared to a GoFundMe campaign started for the family following his death and the hospitalization of three of his sons.GoFundMe
GoFundMe
Newman was pronounced dead at the scene. The other three passengers, his sons Connor, Caleb and Elijah, all “miraculously” survived and are currently in stable condition, aGoFundMe campaignfor the family stated.
source: people.com
