Four killed as jet crashes in ball of flames
A private jet overshot a runway in California and crashed in flames, killing all four people aboard.
The Cessna 560 came in to land at Southern California McClellan-Palomar Airport on a flight from Idaho, but went about 150 yards beyond the runway, smashing through scaffolding and into a commercial storage facility, said Bill Polick, spokesman for the San Diego County Department of Public Works.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. Polick said the weather was clear with only light wind.
One victim was identified by his company as Frank Jellinek, 60, chairman emeritus of Fisher Scientific International, a Hampton, New Hampshire, supplier of medical and research instruments.
In Idaho, the Wood River Journal newspaper reported that others who boarded the plane there were pilot Jack Francis, co-pilot Andy Garrett and passenger Janet Shafran, wife of one of the aircraft’s registered owners.
Authorities said the plane was registered to Goship Air LLC of Ketchum, Idaho. Idaho business records show it is owned by Ketchum City Councilman Steve Shafran and Kipp Nelson, an investment banker and a trustee of the US Ski and Snowboard Team Foundation.
Norman Boyd said he saw the plane in trouble as he drove near the airport on his way to work.
“Its landing gear was up and it was going down really fast,” Boyd, who worked on aircraft in the US Navy, said. “It was heading toward the runway and the approaching speed was way beyond what it should be.”
The National Transportation Safety Board sent investigators to the scene 30 miles north of San Diego.
