Fog and Tech Failures Under Investigation in Deadly San Diego Plane Crash

Investigators are looking into a plane crash near a San Diego airport. They want to know if fog and broken airport lights played a role.

A small jet, a Cessna 550, crashed early Thursday. It hit a neighborhood, burned cars, and destroyed at least one home.

All six people on board are believed to have died. Two were well-known in the music world — a former drummer from The Devil Wears Prada and a top music agent.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is checking many clues. The plane did not have a flight data recorder, which would have helped. Officials do not yet know why the crash happened.

At a news event on Friday, NTSB investigator Dan Baker said the FBI is helping. They are saving and studying evidence from the crash site.

The plane hit power lines before crashing into homes. It went down in the Murphy Canyon area. That’s about two miles from Montgomery Field Airport, where the plane was trying to land.

The airport had two problems at the time. One weather station that gives pilots weather updates was not working. A power surge had caused it to shut down.

It was also foggy in the area at the time.

Mr. Baker called the outage a “technical glitch,” but said it is not clear if it caused the crash. Not all airports have this kind of system.

Also, lights on one runway were not working. The airport had sent a warning to pilots about it. The pilot of the crashed plane had planned to land on that runway.

The pilot did not call air traffic control or say there was an emergency.

The plane also did not have a flight data recorder. Investigators are now trying to find out if it had a cockpit voice recorder instead.

The crash happened around 3:45 a.m. local time. About 100 people had to leave their homes. Eight people on the ground were hurt. One person went to the hospital.

The NTSB will share a first report in about 30 days. A full report could take 12 to 24 months.

Victims Included Music Agent and Former Band Drummer

Four of the six people on the plane have been named.

Emma Huke, 25, and Kendall Fortner, 24, worked at Sound Talent Group. The company said Fortner was full of life and Huke brought joy to others.

Dave Shapiro, who helped start Sound Talent Group, also died. He worked with bands like Sum 41, Parkway Drive, and Vanessa Carlton. He loved flying and had 15 years of experience.

Daniel Williams, a former drummer for The Devil Wears Prada, was also killed. He had posted photos of himself and Shapiro in the plane before the crash.

Williams helped start the band and played with them for over 10 years before leaving in 2016.

The band shared photos of Williams online. One message read: “no words. We owe you everything. Love you forever.”