SAN DIEGO — A man was killed Saturday afternoon after their plane crashed in a field adjacent to the Montgomery-Gibbs Airport runway, San Diego police told CBS 8.
San Diego-Fire Rescue responded to reports of an aircraft crash in the northwest corner of Montgomery-Gibbs Airport in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego around 12:23 p.m., according to a tweet from SDFD.
Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport is a 456-acre airport with three runways, one public, and two private helipads commonly used by San Diego-Fire Rescue and San Diego Police Department Air Operations.
When firefighters arrived on scene, they discovered a plane with badly mangled front-end damage, with one man onboard needing immediate medical attention, according to SDFD.
Flight history from the plane's transponder showed several small flights, looping over Montgomery-Gibbs Airport, lasting no longer than 10 minutes, a web-based aircraft tracking website showed.
Officials said that one man was rescued from the wreckage and transported to an area hospital in critical condition.
The victim later died, succumbing to his injuries, according to San Diego police.
San Diego County and City officials were called to the scene to help mitigate a fuel spill on the field from the crash.
No fire or explosion was reported, SDFD tweeted.
The plane was identified as a Cirrus SR20 aircraft which boasts of being "... the perfect dual-role airplane: easily manageable for the newer pilot and perfectly suitable for business use," according to the manufacturer's website.
An investigation is underway as to what caused the aircraft to crash.
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