Small business jet crashes in U.S., killing 6

LOS ANGELES. Six people were killed early Saturday when a small business jet crashed in the western U.S. state of California, authorities said.

Police responded to the plane crash at 4:15 a.m. local time in Murrieta, a city in southwestern Riverside County, about 150 km southeast of Los Angeles, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. ‘Deputies located an aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field.

Six occupants from the plane were located and pronounced deceased at the scene,’ said the department in a press release. The Cessna C550 business jet took off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas about 3:15 a.m. local time.

It was the second fatal crash in the area this week. A student pilot was killed, and three others were injured when a Cessna 172 crashed on Tuesday while departing a local airport.

The crashes are being investigated by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.