SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The NTSB and FAA are investigating Monday evening's deadly plane crash at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, where a Cessna 172 went down and caught fire, killing both people on board. New video and witness accounts are now painting a fuller picture of the moments surrounding the crash.
Witnesses Mauricio Godinez and Melizza Cardiel were at their nearby hangar when they heard the crash.
"We heard this loud boom. She peeks out, she tells me a plane crashed. I peek outside, and yes, a plane definitely crashed," Godinez said.
The two ran toward the burning plane to help, but were forced back by the intensity of the fire.
"The flames was just too much. It was just like. If we would have gotten in there, we would have gotten burned ourselves," Cardiel said.
According to the FAA's preliminary report, the crash occurred during landing after the left wing of the plane dipped. The report states the aircraft appeared to stall and spun into the ground.
The NTSB says the plane was attempting a go-around, a maneuver in which a pilot aborts a landing approach and climbs back into the air.
Commercial pilot and flight instructor Robert Katz, who has nearly 45 years of experience, reviewed publicly available air traffic control communications and flight data from FlightAware. He says the data shows the plane was performing touch-and-go maneuvers before the go-around.
"The purpose of this is to practice takeoffs and landings; it's great experience for the pilot who's doing that, for the student who is training," Katz said.
Katz also noted there were no distress signals before the crash.
"There was no hint of any trouble, no emergency declared, but the winds were reported as strong just before this incident occurred," Katz said.
The identities of the two people killed have not been released. Public records searches show the plane was registered to a Jaime Dockins of Athol, Idaho. It is unclear whether Dockins was onboard at the time of the crash.
Witness Laila Hedgepeth, who saw the aftermath of the crash, expressed her sympathies to the families of those on board.
"I just really hope the families are okay, my condolences to them, and I just hope nothing like this ever happens again," Hedgepeth said.
The NTSB is leading the investigation. The agency typically publishes a preliminary report within a few weeks. A complete investigation can take anywhere from one to two years.
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