Unsurvivable small jet crash in Santa Monica, California

A small plane traveling from Hailey, Idaho, crashed on Sunday night at around 6:20 pm, slamming into a hangar at Santa Monica Airport.

A small plane traveling from Hailey, Idaho, crashed on Sunday night at around 6:20 pm, slamming into a hangar at Santa Monica Airport. The jet carried the CEO of a Southern California construction company and his son. The aircraft is registered to a Malibu address.

In a statement issued by the Santa Monica-based company, Morely Builders, the father and son were identified as Mark Benjamin and his son, Luke Benjamin. It is not known if there were any other occupants in the twin-engine Cessna Citation.

The small jet landed on the runway, but according to witnesses, the wing clipped a runway pole and spun out of control, skidding into a hangar. According to a neighbor, they heard a loud boom, and when they went out to investigate, they saw small flames that was followed by an explosion and huge fire.

The heat was so intense that the sheet metal of the hangar wrapped down around and encased the plane. Authorities described the accident as โ€œunsurvivable.โ€

A large crane has been brought in to remove the collapsed hangar from around the plane so the victimโ€™s bodies may be recovered. The runway will remained closed until further notice.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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