Two individuals died Monday evening when a small plane crashed and caught fire on a runway at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in San Diego. The San Diego Police Department received a report of the crash around 5:21 p.m. and confirmed that the aircraft was attempting to land at the time.
The two deceased have not yet been identified. Security footage from the airport shows the Cessna Skyhawk appearing to gain altitude before abruptly nosediving onto the runway. The incident occurred in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego.
Witness Sidney VanNess, who was also approaching the airport after a flight from Sacramento with his children, described seeing a fire on the runway. "Dad, there’s a fire over there," VanNess recalled his son saying. Air traffic control subsequently informed him of the crash. VanNess, a pilot with approximately 400 hours of flight experience in Cessnas, was flying a different aircraft and had to redirect to Gillespie Field in El Cajon.
"You see something like that… this is an activity that has to keep you humble," VanNess told The Post. "You understand that even if you do everything right, that can be you. That’s the sad truth."
Emergency crews responded to the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to conduct an investigation into the cause of the crash. Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport is located approximately 10 miles north of downtown San Diego.