Pilot Killed as Private Plane Crashes Into Hillside in Crest
At least one person was killed when a small plane crashed in a rural residential section of Crest shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department could not confirm whether anyone else was aboard the four-seat, single-engine Cherokee when it went down in mountainous terrain about 25 miles east of downtown San Diego. No survivors were found.
The name of the victim was not available Thursday night.
Area residents reported hearing the plane’s engine sputtering before the aircraft hit an undeveloped hillside. After a 30-minute search in heavy fog, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters found the wreckage, and debris was scattered over a large area, said Sheriff’s Lt. John Penwold.
The Sheriff’s Department late Thursday had not confirmed where the plane had taken off or where it was bound. The Federal Aviation Administration and the county coroner’s office were investigating the accident.
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