Two private jets collide midair outside San Diego, killing 5

Late Sunday morning, two small aircraft — a single-engine Cessna 172 and a twin-engine Sabreliner jet — collided near Brown Field in San Diego County, killing all five people aboard the two planes. The Sabreliner, carrying four, was leased to military contractor BAE Systems, which confirmed Sunday night that its employees were among the dead. The Censa was being flown by an unidentified pilot on a cross-country trip, according to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).

Both planes were trying to land at Brown Field, a general purpose municipal airport about 15 miles southeast of downtown San Diego and a little over a mile from the Mexican border, the FAA said. The wreckage of the two planes was found about a quarter-mile apart, and fire fighters had to put out a two-acre brushfire caused by the crash. "It appears it was a very violent crash, as you can tell by both aircraft being in multiple pieces," said Nick Schuler, division chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The FAA and NTSB will investigate the cause of the accident.

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