Six dead in small plane crash in US

A small private plane crashed in California, in the United States early Saturday, killing all six people aboard, authorities said.

The plane, a Cessna C550, crashed around 4:15 am local time near Murrieta airport, southeast of Los Angeles, the Federal Aviation Administration told AFP.

Police officers dispatched to the site discovered a plane engulfed in flames in a field; the six people on board were pronounced dead at the scene, the local sheriff said.

The aircraft had taken off from Las Vegas International Airport, the FAA said. Its crash caused a small brush fire, which was quickly contained.

Heavy fog blanketed the area Saturday morning, local media reported, which may have caused the aircraft to miss the runway.