What the Cessna 550 pilot said moments before the fatal crash in San Diego

Several people were killed when a small business jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in San Diego before dawn on Thursday, destroying a home and setting over a dozen vehicles ablaze. Now, a CNN report has revealed what the pilot said in the moments leading up to the tragedy. According to the report, which cited air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net, the pilot of the Cessna 550 business jet acknowledged poor weather conditions but told air traffic controllers they would proceed with the landing. “I just want to see what I’m in for here,” the pilot said while asking about weather conditions at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. The controller reported visibility at just half a mile, with a cloud ceiling of 200 feet. “All right, that doesn’t sound great, but we’ll give it a go,” the pilot responded. Roughly 30 minutes later, the plane crashed. The report stated there was no indication of mechanical failure, and no emergency was declared prior to the incident. The crash occurred in dense fog as the jet, which had originated in Kansas, was approaching Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. It is still unclear what caused the crash, though a fire department official noted that a nearby power line appeared to have been clipped. The plane went down around 3:45 a.m. (10:45 GMT), striking the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, which is largely made up of military housing. San Diego is home to multiple U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard facilities. The tragedy comes amid a series of troubling incidents in American airspace. Air traffic control outages have disrupted operations at Newark Liberty International Airport twice in recent weeks. In January, a mid-air collision occurred over Washington, D.C., involving a commercial aircraft and a military helicopter. Earlier this month, two people died when their small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood northwest of Los Angeles.