Many die as plane crashes into houses in California

A plane has crashed into a residential area of southern California in the United States, smashing into houses, setting multiple cars ablaze, and killing people onboard.

TV footage showed rows of cars burned to blackened shells and at least one house suffering major destruction in the San Diego neighbourhood of low-rise homes.

The Federal Aviation Authority said a Cessna 550 crashed at about 3:45 a.m (8.45pm AET) local time on Thursday, May 22, 2025.

Multiple people who were travelling on the small plane are dead, authorities said.

San Diego police and fire officials said the private plane could hold eight to 10 people but they do not yet know the total of how many were on board.

The neighbourhood is close to the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, AFP reported.

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“We have jet fuel all over the place. Our main goal is to search all these homes and get everybody out right now,” Assistant Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said during a news conference.

He said “there is a direct hit to multiple homes” in the Murphy Canyon neighbourhood and described “a gigantic debris field” in an area of densely populated homes and sweeping canyon views.

“When it hit the street, as the jet fuel went down it took out every single car that was on both sides of the street,” Eddy added.

The San Diego Police Department earlier said it was “responding to a plane crash” and evacuated three streets, while advising the public to call authorities if coming across debris or “smell jet fuel”.

San Diego officials haven’t released details about the plane that crashed but said it was a flight coming in from the Midwest.

The Star