Four killed in a two-plane collision near San Diego

Four people were killed on Sunday morning when two small planes collided in mid-air about 15 miles (24 km) southeast of downtown San Diego, authorities said.

The crash occurred at around 11 a.m. when a twin-engine Sabreliner collided with a single-engine Cessna 172 over an area located two miles (3 km) from Brown Field Airport in San Diego county, said a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

At least four passengers were found dead at the scene, Cal Fire spokesman Nick Schuller said.

Debris from the collision landed in a field west of the airport and caused a 2-acre (8,000-sq meter) brush fire that was put out by firefighters who responded to the scene, according to Schuller.

Authorities do not yet know the total number of passengers that were aboard both flights. No one was injured on the ground, but a firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion, according to Schuller.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what caused the crash, an FAA spokesman said.