Authorities have named the six people killed when a small plane crashed in California on Saturday morning.
Emergency responders found the aircraft engulfed in flames in a field outside French Valley Airport in Murrieta at 4:15 a.m PT (7:15 a.m. ET), Riverside County Sheriff's Department said.
All six of the plane's occupants were pronounced dead at the scene, the department said.
The victims were identified as Abigail Tellez-Vargas, 33, of Murrieta, Riese Lenders, 25, of Rancho Palos Verdes, Manuel Vargas-Regalado, 32, of Temecula, Lindsey Gleiche, 31, of Huntington Beach, Alma Razick, 51, of Temecula, and Ibrahem Razick, 46, of Temecula.
Their next of kin have been notified, the sheriff's department said.
The plane—a Cessna C550 business jet—had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas at about 3:15 a.m. PT and "crashed short of French Valley Airport during its second approach," the National Transportation Safety Board said, according to ABC News.
At a news conference, NTSB investigator Elliott Simpson said a foggy marine layer of air mass had started to envelop the area, causing low visibility just before the pilot planned to land the aircraft.
"The pilot reported to air traffic control that he was going to perform a missed approach, which generally happens when a pilot can't see the runway environment," Simpson told reporters.
Air traffic controllers had approved the procedure for the pilot to make another landing attempt, he said. The plane crashed about 500 feet short of a runway.
"It appears that the weather was at the minimums for landing at that airport, so the visibility and ceilings allowed for a landing — but it was right on the minimums," Simpson added.
The NTSB and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash. Newsweek has contacted both for further comment via email.
Saturday's crash occurred just days after another fatal plane crash in the area.
A single-engine Cessna 172 with four occupants crashed shortly after takeoff from French Valley Airport just before 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the sheriff's department said in a news release.
The plane's pilot was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as Jared Newman, 39, of Temecula.
Three juvenile passengers were also taken to hospital with different degrees of injuries.
The NTSB and FAA are also investigating that crash.
Simpson told the news conference that the two crashes near French Valley Airport "could be completely unrelated," and that the investigation was in its early stage.
