SAN DIEGO (AP) — The runway lights were out, a weather alert system wasn’t working and there was heavy fog at a San Diego airport when a pilot who had flown across the country made the decision to proceed with landing but came up short and crashed into a neighborhood, likely killing all six aboard the aircraft, investigators said Friday.
Music executive Dave Shapiro poses for a portrait on Dec. 3, 2024, in Nashville. (Stephanie Siau/Sound Talent Group via AP)
Investigator Dan Baker of the National Transportation Safety Board said officials will work over the next year to determine what caused the Cessna 550 Citation to crash just before 4 a.m. local time Thursday. The jet was carrying a music executive and five others. No one in the neighborhood of U.S. Navy housing died, but eight people were treated for smoke inhalation from the fiery crash and non-life threatening injuries.
The pilot acknowledged the weather conditions for landing at the small airport were not ideal and debated diverting to a different airport while discussing the visibility with an air traffic controller at a regional Federal Aviation Administration control tower, according to audio of the conversation posted by LiveATC.net.
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The Federal Aviation Administration had posted an official notice for pilots that the lights were out of service, but it’s not known whether the pilot had checked it. He didn’t discuss the lights being out with air traffic control, but was aware that the airport’s weather alert system was inoperable. Ultimately, the pilot is heard saying that he’ll stick with the plan to land at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport.
“Doesn’t sound great but we’ll give it a go,” he told the air traffic controller.
The plane crashed about 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) from the airport.
Baker said a power surge knocked out the weather system at the airport but the pilot was aware of the fog and an air traffic controller gave him weather information from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, about 4 miles (6.44 kilometers) north.
Music talent agent Dave Shapiro, and two unnamed employees of the music agency he co-founded, Sound Talent Group, were among the dead along with the former drummer for metal band The Devil Wears Prada. Shapiro, 42, had a pilot’s license and was listed as the owner of the plane.
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The crash added to a long list of aviation disasters this year while f ederal officials have tried to reassure travelers that flying is the safest mode of transportation, which statistics support.
Shapiro’s aircraft took off from Teterboro, New Jersey, near Manhattan, at about 11:15 p.m. local time Wednesday and made a fuel stop in Wichita, Kansas, before continuing on to San Diego. That overnight schedule wouldn’t be allowed for an airliner under federal crew rest rules, but those regulations don’t apply to private planes.
Assistant San Diego Fire Department Chief Dan Eddy said the fog was so thick in the morning that “you could barely see in front of you.”
Former NTSB and FAA crash investigator Jeff Guzzetti said he thinks dense fog and fatigue after the pilot flew all night long were likely factors in the crash.
“This accident has all the earmarks of a classic attempt to approach an airport in really bad weather and poor visibility,” Guzzetti said. “And there were other airports that the crew could have gone to.”
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He said pilots are required to check FAA posts called Notices to Airmen that alert pilots to any issues such as runway lights being out.
“It’s fairly easy for the pilot to get that information and they are required to get that information before any flight they take,” Guzzetti said.
The pilot also would have likely noticed the lights weren’t working as he descended. Without lights, procedure dictated that he should have climbed and diverted to another airport, Guzzetti said.
Fragments of the plane were found under power lines that are about a half block from the homes. It then lost a wing on the road directly behind the homes. Guzzetti said even if the plane had missed the power lines it may have still crashed because it was coming in too low in the fog.
A terrifying wakeup
The crash site shows more damage on the front side of homes, including a smashed stone landscaping wall and an incinerated truck that was parked across the street and shoved into the living room of its owner’s home before catching fire.
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Ben McCarty and his wife, who live in the home that was hit, said they felt heat all around them after being woken up by an explosion.
“All I could see was fire. The roof of the house was still on fire. You could see the night sky from our living room,” McCarty, who has served in the Navy for 13 years, told local ABC affiliate KGTV.
Flames blocked many of the exits so they grabbed their children and dogs and ran out the back but the burning debris blocked the gate so neighbors helped them climb over the fence to escape.
“We got the kids over the fence and then I jumped over the fence. They brought a ladder and we got the dogs,” McCarty said.
Meanwhile, fiery jet fuel rolled down the block igniting everything in its path from trees to plastic trash containers to car after car.
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Investigators work at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
A vehicle is left damaged at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Investigators work at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Investigators work at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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Investigators work at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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Investigators work at the site of a plane crash Friday, May 23, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
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McCarty’s home was the only one destroyed, though another 10 residences suffered damage, authorities said.
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McCarty said his family used to enjoy living under the flight path so they could watch the planes pass overhead.
“Us and our kids would sit on our front porch and we’d look up and my sons would always be excited saying ‘plane plane’ watching the planes go by and ironically right where we were sitting is where that plane hit,” McCarty said.
Now, he wants to move.
“I’m not going to live over that flight line again — it’s going to be hard to sleep at night,” McCarty said.
It could have been much worse
Guzzetti said in his experience there often aren’t deaths on the ground when a plane crashes in a residential area unless people are right where the plane hits such as in Philadelphia in January.
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At least 100 residents in the San Diego neighborhood were evacuated and officials said it was unclear when it would be safe for people to return.
Thursday’s crash comes only weeks after a small plane crashed into a neighborhood in Simi Valley northwest of Los Angeles killed both people and a dog aboard the aircraft but left no one on the ground injured.
In October 2021 a twin-engine plane plowed into a San Diego suburb, killing the pilot and a UPS delivery driver on the ground and burning homes.
Funk contributed to this report from Omaha, Nebraska.
36.9 — The percentage of groundballs that Márquez yielded in 2025, a career low and significantly below his career average (48%). Márquez’s groundball rate was regularly above 50% before requiring Tommy John surgery in early 2023. He made one start in 2024 and struggled mightily while making 26 starts last year.
TRENDING
Down — Márquez had a 4.40 ERA through his first seven years in the majors, not bad considering he pitched roughly half his games at one of the best hitting environments in the majors. In fact, Márquez has a 5.17 ERA in his career at Coors Field and a 4.22 ERA in road environments. But Márquez underwent Tommy John surgery early in 2023, made one start in the majors in mid-July in 2024 (4 IP, 3 ER) and struggled throughout his first full year back in the Rockies rotation. The season was so difficult for Márquez that he was actually worse on the road (7.32 ERA) than he was in 11 starts at Coors Field (5.98 ERA). His strikeout rate (5.9 per nine innings) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (1.73) were the worst of his careers, as was his walk rate (3.4 per nine innings), while his hit rate (12.0 per nine innings) was the second worst of his career. On top of that, Márquez’s groundball rate was also the lowest of his career (see stat to note) and ranked in the bottom 22nd percentile of the league and his hard-hit rate (48.5%) and average exit velocity (91.7 mph) both ranked in the bottom 2 percentile of the league. One reason: a 94.8 mph four-seamer is down a few ticks than the height of his effectiveness. Márquez reached free agency after the season and signed with the Padres in February.
2026 OUTLOOK
Márquez has a big-league deal with the Padres, but he’ll have to rediscover his pre-elbow-reconstruction form to hold onto a roster spot, as RHP Griffin Canning (Achilles) is expected to push for a spot at some point this season and the likes of LHP JP Sears, RHP Matt Waldron and minor league signees like Marco Gonzales could warrant looks if Márquez’s struggles continue into 2026.
German Marquez #33 of the San Diego Padres participates in drills during spring training workouts at the Peoria Sports Complex on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026 in Peoria, Ariz.(Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
In today’s Daily Dirt, I mentioned that the search at San Diego was done. Here’s the official announcement from USD on the hiring of JR Blount as their next head men’s basketball coach:
University of San Diego Athletics has named JR Blount the 15th head coach in San Diego men’s basketball program history, USD Associate Vice President and Executive Director of Athletics Kimya Massey announced on Monday.
Blount arrives in San Diego with a reputation as one of college basketball’s rising coaching talents after helping lead Iowa State to four NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons.
He joins the Toreros after five seasons on T.J. Otzelberger’s staff at Iowa State, where the Cyclones compiled a 95-45 record during his tenure, won the 2024 Big 12 Tournament Championship and reached the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 in 2022 and 2024 — one of the most successful stretches in program history. Iowa State finished in the AP Top 15 in each of those four seasons and climbed as high as No. 2 nationally in each of the last two years. During the 2025-26 season, the Cyclones opened with a 16-0 start, highlighted by victories over No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 Houston, No. 9 Kansas and No. 14 St. John’s.
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“After a thorough and highly competitive national search, we are proud to welcome JR Blount as the next head coach of USD men’s basketball,” said Massey. “JR is an outstanding leader, a relentless competitor and one of the brightest rising coaches in college basketball. Even more importantly, throughout this process I came to know him as a humble leader with strong integrity and deep family values. JR has been a part of winning at every level of his career and understands what it takes to build a program that competes with toughness, discipline and consistency. Just as importantly, he believes in developing young men holistically and leading in a way that reflects the values of this university.
“This is a pivotal moment for our program and JR’s vision aligns with our belief that San Diego men’s basketball should compete in the upper tier of the WCC and position itself to be a regular NCAA Tournament participant. We are excited about what lies ahead under his leadership.”
“As a product of Catholic education and deeply committed to USD’s mission and values, Coach Blount is an outstanding role model for the young men in our Torero basketball program,” said USD President James T. Harris III. “He brings an impressive resume with deep experience, a winning track record and — above all — a commitment to the overall wellbeing of our student-athletes.”
“I’m incredibly honored and grateful for the opportunity to lead USD men’s basketball,” Blount said. “We are so thankful to Athletic Director Kimya Massey and President Harris for this opportunity. This is more than just a coaching position for me — it’s a chance to become part of a community and build something meaningful. My wife and our three daughters are excited to make this move together and we can’t wait to invest in this university and the relationships that make it special.
I come to USD with a deep desire to win — to compete relentlessly, to develop our young men to their fullest potential and to build a program our fans can be proud of. Winning championships is important, but so is building a culture of toughness, accountability and love. We’re going to work every day to represent USD the right way, on and off the court. I’m ready to get started.”
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Blount played a key role in Iowa State’s rise under Otzelberger, helping orchestrate one of the most significant program turnarounds in recent Division I history. In his first season with the Cyclones in 2021-22, Iowa State rebounded from a two-win campaign the year before to finish 22-13 and advance to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. The Cyclones quickly established a national reputation for defensive toughness, ranking among the nation’s best in scoring defense, defensive efficiency, steals and turnovers forced.
Over the next three seasons, Blount helped Iowa State sustain that momentum. In 2022-23, the Cyclones advanced to the NCAA Tournament and recorded nine wins over AP Top 25 opponents, tied for the most in school history. In 2023-24, Iowa State won the Big 12 Championship, finished 29-8, posted an undefeated 18-0 record at Hilton Coliseum and advanced to the Sweet 16. Most recently, the 2024-25 Cyclones finished 25-10, climbed as high as No. 2 in the Associated Press poll, earned another NCAA Tournament appearance and closed the season ranked No. 17 nationally.
Known for his work in player development, recruiting and culture-building, Blount has mentored multiple all-conference and All-America caliber players throughout his coaching career. At Iowa State, he developed some of the Big 12’s top performers while contributing to a program identity rooted in toughness, connectivity and competitive excellence.
Prior to Iowa State, Blount spent three seasons at Colorado State, where he helped elevate the Rams into one of the Mountain West’s top programs. During his tenure in Fort Collins, Colorado State signed the highest-rated recruiting class in program history and posted consecutive 20-win seasons, including a 20-8 finish and a run to the NIT semifinals in 2020-21. He also played a leadership role in Colorado State’s Together Initiative, which promoted social justice and racial equality on campus.
Blount also previously served in coaching roles at Drake and Saint Leo and began his collegiate coaching career as a graduate assistant at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where the program won the 2010 NCAA Division III National Championship.
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A former three-year team captain and two-time team MVP at Loyola University Chicago, Blount later played professionally for the Leicester Riders of the British Basketball League during the 2010-11 season. He earned degrees in psychology and sociology from Loyola in 2009 and later received his master’s degree in education from UW-Stevens Point in 2012.
A native of Milwaukee, Blount and his wife, Ashley, have three daughters: Maya, Zuri and Gema.
UNIVERSITY CITY (KGTV) — San Diego police are investigating the death of an 81-year-old woman who was found unresponsive in her apartment in the 6300 block of Genesee Avenue.
Officers and San Diego Fire-Rescue personnel responded to a 9-1-1 call at about 11:56 p.m. on March 6.
First responders found the woman in her bedroom, unresponsive and “positioned awkwardly on a bed.” Despite immediate life-saving efforts, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives from the San Diego Police Department’s Homicide Unit were called to the scene due to “unusual circumstances,” police said. The cause and manner of death remain undetermined.
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Investigators are working with the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine what happened.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (619) 531-2293 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
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