A FAULT at the airport of the fatal San Diego plane crash was reported seven months before the tragedy as pilot faced multiple failures.
Officials are still investigating the crash that led to the tragic deaths of six individuals, including former drummer Daniel Williams. The pilot encountered multiple issues during the flight.
The incident occurred at approximately 3:45 PST when a Cessna aircraft abruptly descended from the sky, striking power lines and ultimately crashing in a residential area located two miles away from San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive airport.
Among the victims of the crash were 39-year-old Williams, music agent Dave Shapiro (42), booking agents Emma Huke (25) and Kendall Fortner (24), software engineer Dominic Damian, and professional photographer Celina Kenyon (36).
While it has not been confirmed if Shapiro who has over a decade of flying experience was piloting the plane, NTSB officials have revealed what was happening in the cockpit moments before the incident.
It comes after a haunting audio recording of the pilot’s final message to air traffic control revealed he was flying blind amid equipment failures.
“The pilot did not report any problems to air traffic control and he did not declare an emergency,” lead NTSB investigator Dan Baker told reporters at a press conference on Friday.
But he highlighted that the weather notification system was not working at the airport when the pilot made his approach in the early hours of the morning on Thursday.
Baker said that the “inoperative” system was down due to “an unrelated power surge” after the plane smashed into nearby power lines during the crash.
Instead, the pilot was informed of the poor weather conditions including thick fog and just half a mile of visiblity by air traffic control at Marine Corps Air Stations Miramar, about eight miles away, Baker confirmed.
It was then that the pilot was recorded saying, “Alright. Doesn’t sound great.
“But we’ll give it a go,” he said as he prepared to try to land the aircraft despite the challenging conditions.
But that was not the only fault the pilot was forced to address.
The approach lights on the runway that can be activated remotely by pilots as they guide themselves to the airport were also down at the airport, Baker noted – and they had been for months.
Public records state the fault was reported in October last year, per CBS affiliate KFMB-TV.
“There were notices to the airmen stating that there was airport lighting that was out that would have affected the illumination of the runway,” Baker said.
Despite this, the NTSB reported that the pilot did attempt to activate the runway lights on his approach.
Investigators have not confirmed a cause for the smash, but they’re probing several factors including the weather.
The Cessna began descending miles away from the airport, cutting through power lines and crashing into homes at a US-Navy residential area, leaking fuel, sparking fires and injuring six.
‘EVERYWHERE BURNING’
Those whose homes were destroyed have spoken out about the terrifying ordeal after officials revealed the various in-cockpit challenges.
When the plane smashed into the quiet neighborhood, around 100 people were forced to flee their homes, including the McCarty family.
All four of them who were asleep when the plane directly hit their home survived the shocking ordeal and have revealed how the debris continued to burn hours afterwards.
“The living room looked like, this is the only way I can describe it, like in movies when they show a meteor hit, and you see the debris everywhere still burning, and burning holes through the ground. That’s what my living room looked like,” Srujana McCarty told Fox News affiliate KUSI.
Pictures from the wreckage show partially destroyed homes, melted and mangled vehicles, and debris scattered across the street.
“You would expect to face tragedies like that in the military, situations that put you in stress, but for it to happen at your home, it’s definitely one of the hardest things to have experienced,” Ben McCarty said.
“There were a lot of angels who helped us and it’s just attributed to the military training.
“Even like last night, any little noise, it was really hard to sleep. Even the chime from opening the door system, a little beep or something, it’s all kind of triggering.
“And any time I would hear like a car going through the speed bumps, it makes you jolt.”
“You’re in your home and you’re safe, and then you have a plane come crashing through your house,” he added.
‘WORLD IN SHAMBLES’
Meanwhile, family and friends of the victims of the crash have posted touching tributes to their loved ones online.
Williams’ fiancée Hannah Ray tragically revealed how her “world is in shambles” after her partner died on their 14th anniversary in a heartbreaking post on Instagram.
Meanwhile, other tragic details have come to light including in the tribute to Celina by her father Bryan Charles Feldman.
He revealed his daughter had decided to board the Cessna rather than book a commercial flight in order to be home in time to take her daughter to school.
The NTSB has said that a preliminary report about the crash can be expected in the coming weeks, but a full one could take up to two years.
