Transport Jet Burst Into Flames After Impact

A small Marine Corps jet with four people onboard crashed during an attempted landing at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, authorities said. It was not immediately known whether there were any survivors, said FAA spokesman Bruce Nelson. The UC-35 --a modified version of a Cessna Citation -- slammed into a brushy area about a half-mile short of the runway at about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, Nelso said. The plane burst into flames after it went down east of Interstate 15. Rescue teams from the base and the San Diego Fire Department searched for survivors late into the evening. The National Weather Service reported light fog in the area but no major visibility problems.

"Right now we really don't have too many facts," said Lt. John Niemann, a Marine spokesman.

A base spokesman, Capt. Mike Friel, said he didn't know whether the plane had been on a training mission or was arriving from another base. No further details were immediately available. Crashes at the base are rare. In March 1987, an F-14 Tomcat fighter jet crashed near Poway on a training mission but there were no injuries. The most recent fatal crash there was in March 1978, when an F-14 Tomcat struck a pickup on I-15 while on approach for landing. One F-14 crew member was killed and the two people in the truck were injured.

FMI: www.miramar.usmc.mil