Six people have died following a plane crash in southern California on Saturday morning.
The plane crashed in a field near the French Valley airport in the city of Murrieta, California, about 85 miles (136.79 km) south of Los Angeles, before bursting into flames.
It was engulfed in fire along with about one acre of vegetation when deputies arrived to the scene.
The six plane passengers were pronounced dead shortly after authorities found the burning plane at around 4.15am, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
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The identities of those killed are yet to be released, but they have all been confirmed to be adults.
The flight had departed from the Harry Reid international airport in Las Vegas before crashing into the field.
The plane was a Cessna C550 business jet, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
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Radar data from flight tracking website FlightAware shows the plane circled once near the field before descending.
A tweet posted by Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said the plane crashed and caught fire, burning about an acre of vegetation.
Part of the tweet read: "Cessna aircraft down in a field, fully involved in fire. The fire burned approximately one acre of vegetation, was contained at 5:35 a.m. and the incident has been turned over to RSO [Riverside County Sheriff] and the FAA."
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As for why the crash happened, KTLA reported that heavy fog blanketed the area on Saturday morning, which may have caused the aircraft to miss the runway by around 500 feet.
California flight instructor and Aviation News Talk podcast host Max Trescott said data from a plane tracking website showed poor visibility in the moments before the crash.
Conditions quickly deteriorated after the pilot aborted the first landing attempt and circled back for another try.
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“The weather did get worse during the time they were making their two approaches,” Trescott told the Los Angeles Times.
It isn't clear why the pilot attempted to land on the second approach.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA are investigating the crash with a preliminary report expected in about 15 days.
The crash on Saturday morning is the second to occur near the French Valley airport in less than a week.
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The pilot of a small aircraft was killed and three juveniles were injured when a plane struck the side of a building by the airport on Tuesday (4 July).
Bec Oakes