Cessna 550 crash in San Diego: What happened and who owned the jet

A Cessna Citation II (Model 550) private jet crashed into a residential neighborhood in San Diego’s Murphy Canyon area early Thursday morning, igniting fires that damaged several homes and vehicles. The crash occurred just before 4 a.m., amid dense fog and low visibility near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.

About the Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a Cessna 550, a twin-engine light business jet typically seating 8 to 10 passengers, and powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada JT15D-4 engines. It was manufactured in 1985, Fox5sandiego claimed citing FAA records.

Meanwhile, CBS 8 claimed that the jet was registered to Daviator LLC, an Alaska-based company. Citing public records, the report claimed that the sole manager and employee of Daviator LLC is David Shapiro, a 42-year-old resident of El Cajon, California. Shapiro is a certified flight instructor, licensed since 2010, with FAA records listing Alaska as the base for his license. It is currently unclear whether he was on board at the time of the crash.


According to FlightAware, the jet originated from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey on Wednesday night, made a fuel stop in Wichita, Kansas, and was scheduled to arrive at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport at 3:47 a.m. local time. The aircraft, however, never reached the airport, crashing instead in the heart of Murphy Canyon, within a military housing complex—the largest such neighborhood operated by the U.S. military.

Impact and Damage

Officials confirmed the crash resulted in multiple fatalities among those aboard the plane. However, the exact number of passengers remains unknown. San Diego Fire-Rescue reported multiple injuries, though none of the neighborhood residents were transported to hospitals.

Assistant Fire Chief Dan Eddy confirmed that the aircraft appeared to have struck at least one home, with about 10 homes suffering damage due to fire or debris. San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl described the scene as "horrific," noting, “With jet fuel going down the street and everything on fire all at once, it was pretty surreal and devastating to witness.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stated that the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will take the lead in investigating the crash. The exact cause remains unknown, though weather conditions, particularly fog, may have played a role.

This is not the first Cessna-related crash in the San Diego area. In 2021, a Cessna C340 twin-engine aircraft crashed in Santee, killing two people and damaging multiple homes.