A San Diego neighborhood was rocked this week with a shocking surprise after a small plane crashed and hit a series of homes, doing significant damage.

According to the Daily Caller, the Murphy Canyon neighborhood in San Diego, California was hit hard by a small plane crash that ultimately damaged at least 15 homes. 

San Diego Fire-Rescue Division Chief Dan Eddy confirmed to reporters that at least one person on the plane had died as a result of the crash.

Shortly after the crash occurred in the early morning hours, local fire departments evacuated surrounding neighborhoods out of an abundance of caution.

What happened?

One of the primary issues after the crash was the hazmat situation, which occurred as a result of the plane's fuel leaking out.

We have a hazmat incident now here with all the plane fuel that is flowing down the street," the fire chief said, which was part of the reason why officials evacuated surrounding neighborhoods.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a statement to the Daily Caller regarding the plane crash.

"A Cessna 550 crashed near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in California, around 3:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, May 22," the FAA's statement to the media read.

It added, "The number of people on board is unknown at this time. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NSTB will lead the investigation and provide any updates."

✈️🚨 Plane Crashes Into San Diego Neighborhood — At Least 15 Homes Affected! 🔥 Smoke & Debris Everywhere pic.twitter.com/qggZstbMeq

— World War 3 (@Worldwar_3_) May 22, 2025

Social media reaction

Many across social media reacted to the news of the plane crash, with some raising questions as to what could have caused such a destructive crash situation.

"Really strange, engine is operational. Something happened with the flight controls. Further investigation is needed," one X user wrote.

Another X user wrote, "Pilot tried to scud the 28R rnav approach in fog, descended below published glide path, hit the powerlines marked on the plate. Pilot error. ASOS was down, no tower ATC until 7am."

It'll be interesting to see where the NTSB and FAA investigations go on this particular crash. Others on social media speculated that there's much more to the story.