5 die in midair collision of 2 small planes in California

SAN DIEGO — Two small planes collided midair while approaching an airport in southern San Diego County on Sunday, killing five people and sparking brush fires in a remote field where the wreckage landed, authorities said.

The collision occurred about 11 a.m. PDT about 2 miles northeast of Brown Field Municipal Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

Both planes — a twin-engine Sabreliner jet and a single-engine Cessna 172 — were approaching Brown Field, Gregor said.

The Sabreliner carrying four people was registered to military contractor BAE Systems, which said in a statement that its employees were aboard the aircraft.

National Transportation Safety Board investigator Andrew Swick told KNSD-TV the pilot of the Cessna was on a cross-country trip.

Both planes caught fire when they hit the ground and broke apart, said Nick Schuler, a division chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“It appears it was a very violent crash, as you can tell by both aircraft being in multiple pieces,” Schuler said.

The wreckage was strewn across a wide area. The Sabreliner crashed on a grassy slope and the Cessna fell within the bounds of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge.

Crews extinguished several brush fires where the planes came down. One firefighter was taken to the hospital after he suffered a heat-related injury, Schuler said.

Brown Field, a former Naval auxiliary air station, is in the Otay Mesa area about 15 miles southeast of downtown San Diego, near the border with Mexico.

The FAA and NTSB were investigating the cause of the collision.