Six people were killed when a Cessna business jet crashed Saturday morning near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta, 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.
No information about the victims was immediately available. The FAA is investigating the crash along with the National Transportation Safety Board.
On July 4, a student pilot was killed and three other people were injured when a Cessna 172 crashed while departing the airport.
Updated at 2:10 p.m., Saturday, July 8, 2023
