Small plane slams into San Diego house, killing two passengers

Two passengers were killed when a small plane crashed into a house in San Diego, authorities said.

The crash occurred shortly before 5pm on Saturday in the city’s Clairemont neighbourhood, a few kilometres north of downtown, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. The pilot and the third passenger aboard the aircraft were taken to hospital with burn injuries, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Nobody was in the house, but the occupants’ dog was killed, according to media reports.

Fire Chief Brian Fennessy told reporters that the single-engine plane took off from Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, just east of Clairemont, about 4.30pm. The pilot reported an engine failure shortly after.

Fennessy told reporters that the pilot tried to land the plane on a schoolyard and an adjacent park behind the house. It landed upright and skidded at least 100 metres before hitting a fence and crashing into the back of the home, the Union-Tribune reported.

Authorities said the plane and the house immediately caught fire.