UPDATE: Fallbrook plane crash victim identified, five others injured

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UPDATE: Sunday, April 3, 8 a.m.

The victim who died in as a result of the plane crash that occurred Saturday, April 15 at 9:15 a.m. on Interstate 15 has been identified as Antoinette Isbelle, 38, of San Diego. The relationship between Isbelle and the other three in the car is unknown at this time.

Isbelle was sitting in the backseat of the vehicle that had pulled over to sync their phone to a wireless device. According to a San Diego County Coroner's press release, she "was the rear seat passenger in a sedan that was stopped on the right shoulder of the ISR 15, N. of Old Hwy 395.

According to a San Diego County Coroner's press release, she "was the rear seat passenger in a sedan that was stopped on the right shoulder of the ISR 15, N. of Old Hwy 395," when the plane which had experienced engine trouble and attempted to land on northbound Interstate 15, skidded approximately 250 feet, smashing into the rear of the car.

"The plane landed, hopped, and skipped before striking the rear, right side of the vehicle," North County Fire public information officer John Buchanan said. "The impact caused the trunk area of the vehicle to be pushed up into the passenger area and killed the passenger riding in the rear, right-side passenger seat."

Isbelle was pronounced dead at the scene.

Five others were injured in the accident, including the pilot, Dennis Hogge, 62, of Jamul, who received life-threatening injuries described as severe trauma to his head. His 50-year-old female passenger was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and underwent surgery Saturday afternoon.

Also injured were the unidentified driver of the Nissan and two other passengers, also unidentified.

"The driver of the passenger vehicle, a 42-year-old male was also taken to Palomar with non-life-threatening injuries," said Buchanan. "Two passengers in the vehicle, a 45-year-old male and a 36-year-old female were taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries."

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

FALLBROOK - A small, private aircraft Lancair IV, single-engine low-wing plane, made an emergency landing onto northbound Interstate 15 in Fallbrook this morning, killing a woman and injuring five other individuals.

The crash occurred Sat., April 2, at approximately 9:15 a.m. on the freeway just north of State Route 76, forcing the California Highway Patrol to issue a Sig Alert due to heavy congestion throughout the area.

The pilot was identified by a CHP spokesman as Dennis Hogge, 62, of Jamul. According to North County Fire public information officer John Buchanan, the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing in the number four lane of the northbound side of the freeway, but struck a vehicle in the process. The downed plane ended up on the right side of the roadway, in the number three and four lanes of traffic.

"There was a passenger vehicle, a Nissan 4-door sedan, that had pulled over on the (east) shoulder of the freeway and the occupants were trying to sync their phone to a wireless device," said Buchanan.

"The plane landed, hopped, and skipped before striking the rear, right side of the vehicle," he said. "The impact caused the trunk area of the vehicle to be pushed up into the passenger area and killed the passenger riding in the rear, right-side passenger seat." The fatally injured female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, spokesman John Buchanan said. Her identity was not released, but she was believed to be a 38-year-old San Diego resident.

Buchanan said in addition to the fatality, five people were injured in the incident.

The pilot was taken to Palomar Medical Center with life-threatening injuries described as severe trauma to his head. His 50-year-old female passenger was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries and underwent surgery this afternoon.

"The driver of the passenger vehicle, a 42-year-old male was also taken to Palomar with non-life-threatening injuries," said Buchanan. "Two passengers in the vehicle, a 45-year-old male and a 36-year-old female were taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries."

It took firefighters about 25 minutes to extricate the 45-year-old woman who was riding in the front passenger seat of the car. The 42-year-old male driver and 36-year-old male passenger in the left rear seat did not require extrication, according to Buchanan. Firefighters were able to contain a fuel leak before it caught fire since they arrived on scene from their station located less than a mile from the crash, Buchanan said. The incident brought a flood of 911 calls to CHP emergency communications dispatchers from motorists and witnesses who saw the aircraft emergency.

“It's amazing that there weren't more injuries,” he said. Federal Aviation Administration officials told first responders not to move the plane until they arrived to begin their investigation. The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board (NASB) will investigate, according to Ian Gregor, public affairs manager of the FAA's Pacific Division. A large number of people witnessed the crash, Buchanan said. Many of them reported not hearing anything that would indicate engine trouble, but said the way the plane was banking to the east, then to the west before hitting the ground indicated it was in some kind of trouble. The Lancair IV is a homebuilt propjet aircraft with retracting landing gear that seats four including the pilot, and ceased production in 2012. It appeared from the crash scene that the landing gear had not been deployed, according to an official. Three lanes on the northbound side of the freeway remained open, but the CHP issued a SigAlert for the area, warning motorists to stay away as traffic problems were expected to last for hours. Traffic on I-15 was backed up for miles in both directions and surface streets in the area were also clogged. The slow lane was expected to remain closed until investigators could remove the plane and car wreckage, according to CHP spokesman Chris Parent. The NTSB was expected to arrive on scene by late afternoon and remove the plane, Parent said.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Early details:

As of 10:35 a.m., traffic on the southbound lanes of traffic was slow and heavy, as motorists slowed to see the downed aircraft. The number one and two lanes of northbound traffic are moving slow, however, the number three and four lanes of traffic have been diverted and funneled down to just two lanes.

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9:30 am

One person was killed and five injured at about 9:15 a.m. this morning as a private aircraft crash landed onto I-15 Northbound between SR 76 and Pala Mesa Dr. in Fallbrook.

According to North County Fire, the plane hit a vehicle in the rear and killed one person in the vehicle. There are five other people in the incident and they've all been transported to medical facilities.

The Northbound 15 is still reduced to one lane of travel. Anyone traveling northbound on I-15 should find an alternate route.

A story and pictures to follow as we have more info.