Two are dead and at least two more are injured following an incident Monday morning when a plane crashed into a neighborhood in Santee, California.
Dr. Sugata Das, an Arizona doctor and the pilot of the small plane, and a UPS driver were killed in the crash, the Associated Press reported. Das, the father of two boys, had worked as an “outstanding cardiologist” at the Yuma Regional Medical Center, Dr. Bharat Magu, chief medical officer at YRMC, told ABC10 News. Das was also the director of a nonprofit organization called Power of Love Foundation, which helped women and children who have either been infected or affected by HIV and AIDS, according to the organization’s website.
“We extend our prayers and support to his family, colleagues, and friends during this difficult time,” Magu added.
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The United Parcel Service of America Inc. also confirmed that one of its employees lost his life in the crash but did not identify the employee.
“We are heartbroken by the loss of our employee, and extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends,” the company said in a statement.
The conditions of the two injured people, reportedly a couple, were not immediately clear.
The San Diego Sheriff’s Department said Monday it offered its “deepest sympathies to the loved ones of those we lost in today’s plane crash.”
We offer our deepest sympathies to the loved ones of those we lost in today’s plane crash in @CityofSantee.
If anyone has videos or photos of the crash, contact the non-emergency line of @SDSheriff at (858) 565-5200. We’ll pass them along to @NTSB to help their investigation. pic.twitter.com/431S4NhDiz— San Diego Sheriff (@SDSheriff) October 11, 2021
At approximately 12:15 p.m. on Monday, the plane Das was flying reportedly started to arch and then plummet from the sky. As the plane continued to plummet, the wing of the plane hit a UPS truck, killing the driver prior to crashing into two homes and bursting into flames, according to the outlet.
When the plane was about a half-mile away from the runway at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport, an air traffic controller attempted to alert Das that his plane was too low to the ground, telling him, “low altitude alert, climb immediately, climb the airplane,” NBC7 reported.
Even as the plane remained at around 1,500 feet, the air traffic controller continued to advise Das to climb the plane to 5,000 feet, according to the outlet.
One neighbor, Michael Keeley, 43, said he saw flames from the crash engulf a UPS truck and a home situated on the corner. Keeley reached through an open window from the burning home to pull a woman out while others demolished the backyard fence of the home in order to save the woman’s husband.
The woman sustained burns on her forearms, and her hair was left burned from the incident.
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The second house, which had been empty, was left destroyed from the plane crash and fire. Several other homes were left destroyed from the incident.
While it is unclear how many people were aboard the six-seat plane, officials have stated that it’s unlikely that anyone on board would have survived the crash and fire.
