Runway lights weren't working as pilot tried to land at airport before fatal crash

The runway lights were out, a weather alert system wasn't working, and there was heavy fog in 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.

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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. Thursday.

The jet was carrying a music executive and five others. No one in the neighborhood of US 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.