Chilling audio has emerged from the final moments before a plane crashed into a residential area in southern California during inclement weather.
The Learjet 35 departed from John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana, and was on its way to Gillespie Field in San Diego when it crashed around 7 p.m. local time in El Cajon, California, killing four people and prompting a massive emergency response that included the California Highway Patrol.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are now investigating the incident. There were no survivors, but no one was injured on the ground, according to a statement from the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department. One home was damaged in the crash.
Air traffic control audio from the crash has since emerged and has been shared across social media. In the chilling audio, the pilot appears calm before screams break out. At the start of the audio, a pop or bang is heard and then the pilot can be heard communicating with air-traffic control. Then, the pilot shouts, “Oh sh*t! Oh sh*t! Oh sh*t! Ahhh!”
Listen below:
Chilling audio of air traffic radio from Learjet N880Z – you can hear the pilot requesting clearance to land then screaming "…oh shit! oh shit!," before the transmission went silent. Authorities confirm the plane that crashed is a Learjet. No official word on fatalities. pic.twitter.com/yGXrSuZJ0A
— Malik Earnest (@MalikEarnest) December 28, 2021
Residents in the area spoke to local news outlet NBC San Diego about the moments before the deadly crash.
“We were outside and basically, we heard the plane getting closer. Normally they get loud because we live right by the airport, but it got really, really loud and all of the sudden, we think it could’ve hit our power lines above our house, but we just saw bright blue and orange flashing lights and we heard the electricity running,” said Lauren Watling, a resident in the area. “And then after that, we heard the plane actually crash. We ran out immediately and there was a ton of smoke everywhere. All we saw was fire and smoke.”
