Mid-air plane collision kills 4 near San Diego

SAN DIEGO -- Four people are dead Sunday following the midair collision and crash of two small planes near an airport in southern San Diego County, authorities said.

The collision occurred around 11 a.m. about 2 miles northeast of Brown Field Municipal Airport, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor.

Four fatalities were reported, said Cal Fire spokesman Nick Schuler. Each plane had two occupants, he said. There were no reports of injuries on the ground.

Both planes - a twin-engine Sabreliner and a single-engine Cessna 172 - were inbound to Brown Field at the time of the crash, Gregor said.

San Diego Fire-Rescue firefighters extinguished the flames at the plane wreckage within 40 minutes, CBS affiliate KFMB reported.

Brown Field, a former Naval auxiliary air station, is in the Otay Mesa area about 15 miles southeast of downtown San Diego, near the border with Mexico.

In:
• Federal Aviation Administration
• San Diego
• Airplane Crash