By Arturo Castañares
Editor-at-Large

A private charter jet heading to San Diego from Wichita, Kansas, crashed around 3:45m on Thursday just three miles before landing at Montgomery Field Airport in Kearney Mesa without making any distress radio calls.

The 1985 Cessna 550 jet, tail number N666DS, departed Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita at 2:36am CDT, and flew for more than three hours before beginning its approach to Montgomery Field. The airplane had first departed Teterboro Airport in New Jersey at 11:15pm  EDT for a three hour 34 minute flight to Wichita.

Air traffic control (ATC) communications in San Diego with the pilot gave no indication of any issues before the airplane disappeared from radar.

The Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) that provides pilots updated weather information was not operational at the airport at the time, so air traffic controller gave the pilot the weather at Miramar Marine Corps air base just a few miles away.

“I just want to see what I’m in for here,” the pilot said as he asked the controlled for the weather update.

“Miramar, wind calm, visibility one-half [mile], and indefinite ceiling 200 [feet],” the controller reported.

“OK, doesn’t sounds great but we’ll give it a go,” the pilot responded.

The weather conditions at the time of the crash were low fog with the ceiling being as low as 200 feet from the ground, which was below the minimums for the airport that are published at 250 feet at the lowest for aircraft with advanced GPS navigation equipment.

Additionally, the weather conditions were below the standard for an airplane of the size and speed of the accident airport, making the approach non-legal for the accident aircraft at the time of the crash.

Preliminary radar tracking information shows that the airplane descended below the minimum published altitudes for the approach before it struck power lines east of the airport then crashed into a home on Salmon Street in Tierrasanta.

Residents were evacuated while fire crews put down the fire and kept out because of spilled jet fuel still on the ground.

The instrument flight rules (IFR) approach plate for Montgomery Field shows that the airplane should have been high enough to clear terrain and obstructions that far from the airport.

The last radar report for the aircraft showed it at 500 feet above mean sea level (MSL) and the ground level at the crash site is approximately 400 feet (MSL)

FAA investigators report than six people were on board the aircraft, but they all died in the crash and subsequent fire.

No residents of the houses were injured.

The aircraft is registered to Daviator LLC in Homer, Alaska.

No information has been released identifying the pilot or passengers. The aircraft is certified for single-pilot operations, but it is not clear if a co-pilot was also in the cockpit. Cessna 550 airplanes usually seat 6 to 8 people depending on the seating configuration.

The FBI and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were on scene investigating the accident.

This story will be updated as new information is released.

Castañares is the Publisher and Editor-at-Large of La Prensa San Diego. He has received several journalism awards, including the Ruben Salazar Award for Excellence in Print Journalism, the San Diego County Taxpayers' Association Media Watchdog award, and several First Place awards from the San Diego Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Castañares is also an FAA-certificated private pilot. He can be reached directly at art@laprensasd.com.