Small plane crashes in California, six people dead

Authorities reported that six people died after the small plane they were in crashed early on Saturday morning in California.

A Cessna C550 business jet crashed at roughly 4:15 a.m. local time near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta, California, in Riverside County. The aircraft was “down in a field” and “fully involved in fire,” the Riverside County Fire Department tweeted on Saturday. At around 5:35 a.m., the fire was put out after “approximately one acre of vegetation” had been consumed.

All six passengers were confirmed dead at the scene, according to a news release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. The passengers’ identities are unknown.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the aircraft took off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas. The crash is being looked into by the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA.

In less than a week, there have been two crashes in the region. Tuesday afternoon, just before 2:00 p.m., another Cessna crashed close to the French Valley airfield, according to CBS Los Angeles. Three people were hurt, and one person died. According to CBS Los Angeles, the deceased was Jared Newman, a 39-year-old resident of Temecula and the father of the three surviving passengers. According to reports, he was flying the plane with a training license, which is against the law in the United States.