NATIONAL NEWS

Navy contractor jet was on fire before deadly California crash, federal report says

May 26, 2023, 7:12 PM | Updated: 8:32 pm

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Navy contractor’s aircraft caught fire before it crashed off the California coast earlier this month, killing three people on board, federal investigators said Friday.

The twin-engine Gates Learjet 36A plunged into the Pacific Ocean near San Clemente Island on May 10 while trying to make an emergency landing at a Navy airfield there, according to a preliminary investigative report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The wreckage of the plane was found underwater but the two pilots and additional crew member — all civilians — haven’t been found and are presumed dead, the report said.

The jet was one of two that took off from Point Mugu Naval Air Station in Oxnard and headed south towards San Clemente Island, which is owned by the Navy and is west of San Diego. They were going to take part in training exercises with the Navy.

Shortly after arriving at the exercise site, the crew in the first plane, which was leading, radioed that they smelled an odor in the cabin and the crew of the plane behind radioed that they saw white or gray smoke or gas coming from the left side of the cabin, along with some kind of liquid trailing the jet, according to the NTSB report.

“At this point the lead airplane was not maintaining heading or altitude,” the report said.

The crew of the second plane then saw flames coming from around the rear equipment door of the first aircraft and told the crew to declare an emergency.

The troubled plane planned to land at an auxiliary Navy airfield on San Clemente Island and the other jet maneuvered in front to lead it to the field, the report said.

However, contact was lost as the jets descended.

Broadcast data from the first airplane showed that it made a series of descending turns and was at an altitude of 1,338 feet (408 meters) and about a half-mile (less than a kilometer) from the island when the information stopped, according to the report.

The Learjet’s wreckage was located a mile (1.6 kilometers) offshore in about 300 feet (91 meters) of water, and some of the debris showed evidence of a fire before the crash, the report said.

The report didn’t mention a possible cause for the fire or the crash.

National News

Associated Press

Texas appeals court overturns voter fraud conviction for woman on probation

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — A Texas appeals court has overturned a Fort Worth woman’s voter fraud conviction and five-year prison term for casting an illegal provisional ballot. Crystal Mason did not know that being on probation for a previous felony conviction left her ineligible to vote in 2016, the Second District Court of Appeals […]

42 minutes ago

Associated Press

Magnitude 2.8 earthquake shakes southern Illinois; no damage or injuries reported

GERMANTOWN, Ill. (AP) — An earthquake of magnitude 2.8 has been reported in southern Illinois, near the Missouri state line, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The earthquake was detected about 6:55 p.m. Thursday north of Germantown, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) east of St. Louis, at a depth of just over 14 miles (22.5 kilometers). […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Georgia joins states seeking parental permission before children join social media

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia could join other states in requiring children younger than 16 to have their parents’ explicit permission to create social media accounts. Lawmakers on Friday gave final approval to Senate Bill 351, which also would ban social media use on school devices and internet services, require porn sites to verify users are […]

8 hours ago

Associated Press

Cranes arriving to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — The largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard was being transported to Baltimore so crews on Friday can begin removing the wreckage of a collapsed highway bridge that has halted a search for four workers still missing days after the disaster and blocked the city’s vital port from operating. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore […]

9 hours ago

Associated Press

Georgia House approves new election rules that could impact 2024 presidential contest

ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia House of Representatives on Thursday approved new rules for challenging voters and qualifying for the state’s presidential ballot that could impact the 2024 presidential race in the battleground state. The House passed Senate Bill 189 by a vote of 101 to 73. It now goes to the state Senate for […]

10 hours ago

Associated Press

Ex-Caltrain employee and contractor charged with building secret homes with public funds

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former employee of Caltrain, a mass transit system that connects Silicon Valley with San Francisco, and a former contractor for the transit agency allegedly used public funds to build two small apartments for themselves inside two train stations, authorities said Thursday. San Mateo County prosecutors charged Joseph Vincent Navarro, a […]

11 hours ago

Navy contractor jet was on fire before deadly California crash, federal report says