Six people were killed when a Cessna business jet crashed Saturday morning near the French Valley Airport, the second fatal crash near the airport in four days.
The crash was reported at 4:15 a.m. in the area of Auld and Briggs roads, the Riverside County Fire Department reported. Deputies found the aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field. Six occupants were pronounced dead at the scene.
The burning aircraft caused a vegetation fire of about one acre that was contained at 5:35 a.m., according to Cal Fire Riverside.
The flight departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Mina Kaji.
Shortly before the twin-jet plane was scheduled to land, a marine layer enveloped the area with low visibilities, said Eliott Simpson of the National Transportation Safety Board.
“The pilot reported to air traffic control that he was going to perform a missed approach, which generally happens when a pilot can’t see the runway,” added Simpson.
The airplane crashed about 500 feet short of the originally intended landing runway, and most of the plane, with the exception of the tail, was consumed by the fire.
The NTSB planned on spending possibly two days investigating on scene along with representatives from the FAA and Cessna.
A preliminary report was expected in 14 business days, and a final report was expected in 12 to 18 months, said Simpson.
According to Simpson, the person sitting in the pilot seat was a certified commercial pilot, and all six people on board were adults.
No additional information about the victims was immediately available.
On July 4, a student pilot was killed and three other people were injured when a Cessna 172 crashed while departing the airport.