Kreindler Monitoring Cessna 550 Citation II Business Jet Crash in San Diego, California
May 23, 2025
What Happened
On Thursday, May 22, 2025, at approximately 3:45 a.m., a Cessna 550 Citation II business jet airplane clipped a power line before crashing into Murphy Canyon, a neighborhood in San Diego, California, near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. All six people aboard the Cessna airplane were killed, and eight people in the neighborhood were injured. The Cessna private plane departed Teterboro Airport in New Jersey and had flown to Colonel James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kansas, before proceeding on to San Diego’s Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
The plane hit power lines and crashed into homes in the Murphy Canyon neighborhood, a military community. According to CNN, firefighters went door to door to evacuate area residents.
The fixed-wing, multi-engine Cessna, registry number N666DS, was registered to Daviator LLC in Homer, Alaska. The private plane was manufactured in 1985 and equipped with Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 model turbofan engines.
In the Media
Kreindler’s Experience with Cessna Crashes
Kreindler aviation attorneys have successfully handled many cases involving Cessna aircraft, including multiple cases involving the Cessna Citation airplane. Our current and past Cessna accident cases include:
- Cessna Citation II 550 business jet
- Cessna 560 XLS+ Aircraft
- Cessna R182 in New Fairfield, Connecticut
- Cessna 172S fatal crash in Texas
- Cessna 172 Crash
- Cessna Aircraft crash in Panama
- Cessna 402C plane crash
The Flight Path
CNN reported that the pilot of the Cessna business jet had inquired with air traffic controllers about weather conditions at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport. Air traffic control replied that there were poor conditions, including a cloud ceiling of 200 feet and visibility of half a mile. No emergency had been declared. The plane was recorded at 500 feet as opposed to what should have been no lower than 1300 feet during the approach path.
Preliminary Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are investigating the crash of the Cessna 550 Citation II executive plane into the San Diego neighborhood. According to a CNN report, the Cessna most likely has a flight data recorder and could also have had a cockpit voice recorder.
About Kreindler
Kreindler is the preeminent aviation accident law firm in the world. Our attorneys have been appointed leading counsel in nearly every major commercial airline disaster case in the U.S. and abroad. The firm was recently named 2024 Transportation Law Firm of the Year by the National Law Journal. Kreindler’s aviation practice is led by attorneys who are also commercial-rated, veteran military pilots. Kreindler’s aviation accident attorneys have achieved an unmatched record of success representing people globally who have been injured or lost family members in international and domestic airline disasters. Our firm maintains offices in New York, Boston and Los Angeles.