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6 dead after small plane crashes and bursts into flames in California

All six occupants of the plane were pronounced dead at the scene.
6 dead after small plane crashes and bursts into flames in California
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Six people are dead after a small plane crashed and burst into flames in Murrieta, California. 

The Cessna C550 business jet went down in a field near the French Valley Airport, marking the second crash at the airstrip in one week, according to KTLA. It had been en route from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

The Riverside County Sheriff's Office said officers responded to the scene of the accident at 4:15 a.m. Saturday.

"Deputies located an aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field," the sheriff's office said in a press release.

All six occupants of the plane were pronounced dead at the scene.

Max Trescott, a California flight instructor and host of the Aviation News Talk podcast, told the Los Angeles Times that plane tracking data indicated reduced visibility just before the crash occurred. 

"It was changing for the worse for these folks," Trescott said. "The weather did get worse during the time they were making their two approaches."

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the incident.

A man was killed and three were injured near the same Southern California airport on Tuesday when a plane struck the side of a building, according to the Associated Press.


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