Authorities identify 6 people killed in plane crash in southern California
Jul 9, 2023, 10:43 AM
Charred remains of a Cessna lie near the landing approach at French Valley Airport, in Murrieta, Calif., Saturday, July 8, 2023. The Los Angeles Times reports that, according to CalFire, six people died in the crash. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via AP)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via AP)
MURRIETA, Calif. (AP) — Authorities have identified the six California residents who died Saturday when they were on a small plane that crashed after a flight that started in Las Vegas.
A spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, Mina Kaji, told The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California, that the Cessna C550 business jet took off from Harry Reid International Airport at about 3:15 a.m. Saturday. The plane crashed about an hour later at French Valley Airport in Murrieta, California, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles. All aboard were killed.
Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner Chad Bianco identified those who died as Lindsey Gleiche, 31, of Huntington Beach; Riese Lenders, 25, of Rancho Palos Verdes; Alma Razick, 51, of Temecula; Ibrahem Razick, 46, of Temecula; Abigail Tellez-Vargas, 33, of Murrieta; and Manuel Vargas-Regalado, 32, of Temecula.
Bianco did not release other details.
The crash occurred during the second of two landing attempts in fog just before dawn, authorities said. The jet, which can seat up to 13 people, crashed about 500 feet (150 meters) short of the intended runway, said Elliott Simpson, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board. Simpson said fire consumed most of the plane.
