A twin-engine plane crashed and burst into flames while landing Tuesday, killing all four people on board, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
No one on the ground was hurt.
The jet-engine Cessna 560 was landing at McClellan-Palomar Airport on a flight from Hailey, Idaho, when it skidded off the end of a runway at about 6:40 a.m., said Mike Fergus, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman in Seattle.
It hit a shack that held the airport’s instrument landing system equipment, Fergus said.
“All four on board were killed,” he said.
Norman Boyd of Escondido saw the plane landing as he drove near the airport on his way to work.
“Its landing gear was up and it was going down really fast,” Boyd, who worked on aircraft in the Navy, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “It was heading toward the runway and the approaching speed was way beyond what it should be.”
The National Transportation Safety Board was sending a team to investigate the crash.
There was no immediate word on the victims’ identities but authorities said the plane was registered to Goship Air LLC of Ketchum, Idaho.
No office is listed for Goship Air. According to Idaho incorporation records it is owned by Kipp Nelson and Steve Shafran, both of Ketchum. Shafran was appointed this month to the Ketchum City Council and Nelson is an investment banker and a trustee of the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation.
There was no immediate response to calls to their homes.
The airport 30 miles north of San Diego was closed. It serves private planes, business aircraft and two commuter airlines — America West Express and United Express, both of which operate turboprops at the facility, said Bill Polick, spokesman for the San Diego County Department of Public Works.