An automated system that provides runway lighting and weather conditions before Cessna crashes into a San Diego neighborhood in fog conditions and kills all passengers, was no longer operating at Montgomery Gibbs’ executive airport, investigators said Friday.
As a result, the pilot had no up-to-date weather information for the airport he was planning to land. Thick fog covered the area just before the crash, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego. Authorities said six people were killed in the crash.
Air traffic control provided pilot information on weather conditions at the airport four miles from where the pilot was about to land, National Traffic Safety Commission investigators announced Friday.
Federal agents said that when the plane plunged into residential areas, all passengers, pilots and passengers, were killed.
The San Diego Medical Inspector’s office identified three victims on Friday. David Shapiro, 42, Emma L. Hooke, 25, 25, Serena Marie Rose Kenyon, 35. It was not clear when the agency would release the identities of other victims.
Dan Baker, senior NTSB aviation safety investigator, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fiery collision that left fields of debris scattered throughout the San Diego area.
However, investigators revealed Friday that an automated system that provides weather conditions to pilots has not stopped operations due to generation at the city-owned airport.
Thick fog covered the area just before the crash, according to the National Weather Service in San Diego.
Air traffic control in the area provided an unidentified pilot for Cessna quoted in weather conditions at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, another airport about four miles from Montgomery Gibbs, Baker said.
“So, pilots and air traffic control relied on other sources to gather local weather information to make a decision to continue their approach,” Baker said.
The pilot did not report or declare an emergency prior to the crash reported at about 3:40am on Thursday.
Authorities said the runway also did not have any remote control light that pilots could use to assist them as they landed at Montgomery Gibbs’ executive airport. Authorities say the jet struck a high-tensile power line while approaching the airport, crashing into the home around miles. After the crash, the aircraft was destroyed in a fire, Baker said.
The aircraft are not equipped with flight data recorders, also known as black boxes, that record important data that can be used in surveys.
“At this point, we’re trying to determine if the plane is equipped with a cockpit audio recorder,” Baker said.
Maintenance records show that the aircraft had voice recorders installed at some point, but investigators have no clear answers as to whether it was operating during the crash until they cleared the wreckage that was scheduled to occur over the weekend.
During the day, pilots can see painted runway markings that help them land safely at the airport, but at night these indicators are not visible, relying on runway lights, especially in low visibility.
Randy Kratt, a member of the Air Safety Advisory Committee Foundation, said it is unlikely that the decline in lighting had played a major role in the crash.
“He was off the approach course to the runway right away, so it was all good,” Kratt said. “He’s just gotten too low. Why was he so low? That’s another question. Did he lose focus? Was it fatigue? Did he have any issues with the plane? And of course, certainly, that’s what the NTSB is looking at.”
An aviation expert who spoke with the Times said it is likely that investigators will find a combination of factors that will lead to crashes.
“It was very early, dark and very foggy, so my visibility was limited,” Kratt said. “You have all these factors together.”
The crash comes amid ongoing issues at airports around the country, including a series of radar outages that have led to massive flight delays at Newar Liberty International Airport. Federal officials continue to investigate the January clash in Washington between a commercial jet and a military helicopter that killed 67 people.
Power outages have affected airport operations elsewhere. Earlier this year, a fire at an electronic substation caused havoc at Heathrow Airport. At the time, many major American airports reported that they had emergency backup systems that remained operational for at least some time. It is unclear whether small airports like Montgomery Gibbs have such extensive backup power supplies.
Authorities did not disclose the names of pilots or passengers who died on the aircraft.
Investigators will collect evidence at the scene and document the remains. They then investigate the pilot’s qualifications, training and flight history. This could have played a role in the accident, Baker said.
Baker said a preliminary report is expected over the next 30 days, with the final report taking a year or two.
Here’s what we know so far:
what happened
The Cessna 550 jet, which can accommodate up to 10 people, took off from New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport around 11:15pm Eastern time on Wednesday, and stopped for just an hour in Wichita, Kansas, according to flight tracking site Flightaware. The aircraft is located within three miles of the crash site, heading to Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport, a general air airport owned by the city of San Diego.
At about 3:40am on Thursday, Jet approached the airport. The pilot announced on the radio that the plane is three miles away from landing on Runway 28, according to a recording from Liveatc.net. The pilot did not indicate aircraft problems and did not issue a distress call in recordings reviewed by The Times.
Authorities said the crash was reported about seven minutes later.
Impact and poor conditions
The plane hits approximately two miles of electrical wire before impacting a home in the nearby Murphy Canyon area, which is made up of military housing.
Jet fuel and debris are spreading around the neighborhood. At least eight people suffered minor injuries on the ground and one was taken to hospital, San Diego fire chief Dan Eddie said Wednesday.
The exact measurements of where the plane’s wreckage fell were still being determined by investigators.
“There are planes everywhere,” Eddie says, calling the scene a “field of giant shards.”
Eliott Simpson, senior NTSB aviation accident investigator, said the aircraft was flying in “very poor weather conditions.”
The thick fog tumbled into the area as the plane approached the airport. Visibility fell to 0.55 miles at 3:55am, falling a quarter mile in the area around Miramar, the Marine Corps Aviation Administration, according to the National Weather Service.
“We’re not a fan of the world,” said Adam Roser, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego. “This crept into the valley from the sea, leading to some of those misty conditions.”
Causes
The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed that six people are on the jet. Authorities said no one is likely to have survived, but they have not released all the victims from the crash.
At least two individuals have been identified by colleagues, including Dave Shapiro, co-founder of Sound Talent Group, a San Diego County-based music agency, and Daniel Williams, who posted on Instagram about her flying with Shapiro on Wednesday afternoon. Williams is the former drummer for the metalcore band Devil Wares Prada. The band posted homage to Williams and Shapiro on their Facebook page.
The Sound Talent Group confirmed with the Times that three employees had passed away in the crash.
In a statement, the company said: “We are devastated by the loss of our co-founders, colleagues and friends. Our hearts are directed at our families and everyone affected by today’s tragedy. Thank you for respecting their privacy at this point.”
