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NTSB Releases Preliminary Report on San Diego Crash

Airport approach lights were out of service, the agency said.

Friday, June 20, 2025 at 01:00 PM ET

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Edited By: Steve Spears

A Cessna 550 aircraft [Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

A Cessna Citation S550 crashed during a pre-dawn instrument approach in San Diego, killing all five occupants on board and causing extensive damage to a residential neighborhood, including one home destroyed and eight people injured on the ground.
The NTSB preliminary report indicates the pilot, who held an exemption to fly the usually two-pilot jet solo, was attempting an RNAV approach in thick fog and IFR conditions when the aircraft flew below published minimum altitudes.
The jet collided with high-voltage power lines approximately 1.8 nautical miles from the runway, with contributing factors including an out-of-service Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) and inoperable Runway Alignment Indicator (RAI) lights at the airport.

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The National Transportation Safety Board has released the preliminary report on the pre-dawn crash of a Cessna Citation S550 in San Diego last month, killing all five people on board and setting a military neighborhood ablaze.

The privately owned jet was at the end of an all-night flight that began on the East Coast around midnight local time. The pilot of the jet was the aircraft owner.

Meg Godlewski has been an aviation journalist for more than 24 years and a CFI for more than 20 years. If she is not flying or teaching aviation, she is writing about it. Meg is a founding member of the Pilot Proficiency Center at EAA AirVenture and excels at the application of simulation technology to flatten the learning curve. Follow Meg on Twitter @2Lewski.