Jet bursts into flames after crashing in California neighborhood (VIDEO)
A private jet has crashed in a residential area in El Cajon, San Diego County, California, knocking out power lines and bursting into flames on impact. It is unclear yet if there were any casualties.
The incident, which took place at around 7pm local time on Monday, saw a small jet – reportedly a Learjet 35 – going down at the intersection of Pepper Drive and North Mollison Avenue.
Videos from the scene show multiple fire engines attempting to put out the blaze, which was raging in close proximity to homes.
The crash caused a blackout in the area, the jet apparently having severed power lines as it fell. San Diego-based energy provider SDGE confirmed to local media that the incident had affected its customers, leaving about 600 households without power.
BREAKING NEWS - UPDATE: Plane crash in EL CAJON area near Pepper Drive and Second Avenue. @CBS8 viewer Logen Siminoff took this video of the smoke, fire. Power knocked out to area. No word on the fate of the person/people on board 🙏🏻 #eljcajonplanecrashpic.twitter.com/r2pOak9PtN
— Marcella Lee (@MarcellaNews8) December 28, 2021
More video shared to ABC 10News from the scene of Monday night's plane crash in the Bostonia area of El Cajon shows a scene of fire and wreckage spread across the road at Pepper Dr. and N. Mollison Ave.UPDATES: https://t.co/juFmxfO4yypic.twitter.com/BHEmoYQBCb
— ABC 10News San Diego (@10News) December 28, 2021
The aftermath of the crash was visible from some distance away, with a pillar of fire and smoke seen billowing from the scene.
Air plane crash in El Cajon. San Diego. On pepper and N Mollisson pic.twitter.com/JQ4f0mYexV
— Assafnajem (@assafnajem) December 28, 2021
The fire is now extinguished, according to the sheriff’s department. As yet, it remains unclear how many passengers were aboard the jet, and whether any nearby residents were hurt in the incident.
“We were outside and, basically, we heard the plane getting closer. Normally, they get loud because we live right by the airport, but it got really, really loud and, all of a sudden, we think it could’ve hit the power lines above our house, but we just saw bright blue and orange flashing lights and we heard the electricity running,” a local resident told NBC San Diego. “And then, after that, we heard the plane actually crash. We ran out immediately and there was a ton of smoke everywhere. All we saw was fire and smoke.”
Audio footage allegedly coming from the ill-fated plane has been shared online. In it, the pilot can be heard shouting, “Oh, sh*t! Oh, sh*t! Oh, sh*t! Aargh!” before the recording cuts off.