San Diego Plane Crash | Small plane crashes into San Diego neighborhood

San Diego Plane Crash

Multiple people died when a small plane crashed in Southern California on May 22, striking more than a dozen homes and vehicles in a military housing neighborhood and prompting evacuations in the area, officials said.

The early morning crash set multiple homes on fire and splattered jet fuel along streets in Tierrasanta, a community located about 10 miles northeast of downtown San Diego.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Assistant Chief Dan Eddy said multiple plane passengers died in the crash. Authorities were still working to determine how many people were on board the aircraft.

No deaths were reported among people on the ground, but some victims suffered "minor injuries," Eddy said Thursday morning, May 22.

The Cessna 550 went down about 3:45 a.m. local time, the Federal Aviation Administration reported.

"It was unclear if it was a military or private plane," Eddy said during a morning news conference. latest Update

Plane crash sparks fires at roughly 15 homes

Multiple homes were hit directly by the plane, Eddy said, and the crash caused about 15 homes to catch fire, as well as multiple vehicles.

"I just walked it myself, and down the street itself, it looks like something from a movie," Eddy told reporters. Eddy said hazmat teams also responded.

"We have jet fuel all over the place," Eddy said. "And we’ve asked for more resources to come for that."No one was transported to a hospital from the scene, Eddy said.

Shortly after the plane crashed, Eddy said, crews arrived to find multiple homes and vehicles on fire.

Authorities extinguished the fires and were conducting "multiple searches" on homes, Eddy said.

"Our goal is to make it through every home that that plane touched... to make sure everybody is out and no one was hurt."

Multiple crews remained on scene and expected to be in the area for the next 24 hours, Eddy said Thursday morning, May 22.

San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said more than 50 police officers responded to the scene to evacuate homes, lock down streets, and search for survivors.

"I can't quite put words to describe what this scene looks like with the jet fuel going down the street and everything on fire at once," Wahl said.

The crash displaced at least 100 people, Wahl said.

Naval Base San Diego Commanding Officer Captain Bob Heely said the neighborhood is one of the largest military housing bases in the world.

Heely said the United Service Organizations − the nation's leading charitable organization in serving active-duty service members and military families − would help assist displaced residents.

Where did the plane crash in San Diego?

The plane crashed off Santo Road near Sculpin Street, the San Diego Police Department posted on X, adding an evacuation site was set up at Miller Elementary. People were being asked to avoid the area.

The area is near the Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. It was not immediately known if the plane had taken off or was preparing to land there.

Tierrasanta plane crash causes schools to close

San Diego Unified School Police confirmed the crash closed Hancock Elementary and Miller Elementary for the day.

Both schools are less than a mile from the crash site.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are investigating the crash. USA TODAY has reached out to NSTB.