SDKP encountered technical difficulties prior to deadly aircraft collision

Investigators are examining whether foggy conditions and technical glitches at San Diego airport, which resulted in lights guiding pilots being cut off, may have contributed to a fatal plane crash.

A Cessna 550 crashed early Thursday into a residential neighborhood, burning cars and destroying at least one home.

All six people on board are presumed dead, including a former drummer for rock band The Devil Wears Prada and a prominent music agent.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash, with insights from clues and lack of flight data recorder on the plane. Officials have not yet determined the factors that led to the crash.

NTSB investigator Dan Baker said in a news conference on Friday that the agency is receiving help from the FBI to collect and preserve evidence from the crash site.

The plane hit high-tension power lines before crashing into homes in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, two miles away from the Montgomery Field Airport, where it was headed.

Mr. Baker stated that the airport experienced two issues at the time of the crash, including a power surge rendering the Automated Surface Observing Station inoperative and an issue with the lighting system that guides landing planes.

At the time, foggy conditions were reported throughout the area.

Mr. Baker attributed the power surge to “some sort of technical glitch,” but acknowledged uncertainty whether it contributed to the crash, as not all airports use this system.

A notice called a Notam, informing pilots of the issue with the lighting system, had been filed prior to the crash.

The pilot of the downed plane was aiming for the affected runway, and no emergencies were reported to air control.

The Cessna did not have a flight data recorder, and officials are looking into whether it had a cockpit voice recorder on board.

The crash occurred around 3:45 local time (10:45 GMT). About 100 people had to be evacuated, and eight people on the ground were injured, with one taken to the hospital.

A preliminary report from the NTSB is expected within 30 days, with a final report in the next 12 to 24 months.

Four of the six people on board have been identified. Emma Huke, 25, and Kendall Fortner, 24, were identified by their employer, Sound Talent Group.

Fortner “was the life of the party and lit up any room she entered,” the company stated.

Huke was “a beautiful soul who brought joy and a light to everyone in her presence.”

The company confirmed the death of its co-founder, music agent Dave Shapiro, who had previously worked with various rock groups and was both pilot and flight instructor.

Former The Devil Wears Prada drummer Daniel Williams also died in the crash, according to the band who paid tribute online.

Williams, a band member for over 10 years before leaving in 2016, posted photos on Instagram with Shapiro in the plane’s cockpit before the crash.

The band honored Williams with posts showing him with bandmates and expressed their loss.