Aug. 17--REPORTING FROM SAN DIEGO -- Four people were killed Sunday in a midair collision of two small planes over Otay Mesa east of San Diego near the Mexican border, officials said.
The planes -- a twin-engine Sabreliner and a single-engine Cessna 172 -- collided about two miles northeast of the Brown Field Municipal Airport about 11 a.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Both planes were attempting to land at Brown Field, the FAA said. The cause of the collision has not been determined.
Wreckage from the crash was found in two locations about a quarter of a mile apart, according to Nick Schuler, division chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The planes broke into "multiple pieces," Schuler said. Pieces of the Cessna were found in the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge.
A California Highway Patrol officer, the first law enforcement officer on scene, reported to a dispatcher, "Debris is scattered everywhere."
There were no survivors. Investigators are examining the wreckage to determine if there were any other people aboard either plane in addition to the four victims.
The wreckage caused a 2-acre brushfire near California 125 that was quickly extinguished. No structures were damaged or threatened.
Personnel from Cal Fire, the San Diego Fire Rescue Department and the Chula Vista Fire Department responded to the scene. A Chula Vista firefighter was taken to the hospital with possible heat-related issues as the temperature soared above 100 degrees.
Brown Field, located 1.5 miles north of the Mexican border and 13 miles southeast of downtown San Diego, is a general aviation airport, heavily used by private, corporate, charter and government aircraft.
With its two runways, it is considered a "reliever" facility to reduce usage of Lindbergh Field, the region's international airport shared by commercial airliners and private aircraft.
The crash will be investigated by the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board.
tony.perry@latimes.com
Update
4:28 p.m.: This story was updated with new information about the victims.
This post was originally published at 1:05 p.m.
