Six people killed in French Valley plane crash identified; investigation continues

Kate Franco, Palm Springs Desert Sun
Updated ·2 min read
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Six people were killed when a Cessna business jet crashed early Saturday morning near the French Valley Airport in Murrieta as a marine layer moved into the area. The flight had departed from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.

It is the second fatal crash near the airport in four days.

Six occupants, all adults, were pronounced dead at the scene. The Riverside County Coroner identified the victims as:

  • Abigail Tellez-Vargas, 33, of Murrieta

  • Riese Lenders, 25, of Rancho Palos Verdes

  • Manuel Vargas-Regalado, 32, of Temecula

  • Lindsey Gleiche, 31, of Huntington Beach

  • Alma Razik, 51, of Temecula

  • Ibrahem Razik, 46, of Temecula

The National Transportation Safety Board said at least one of the passengers was a certified commercial pilot, who was in the pilot seat, according to accident investigator Eliott Simpson. He said said there was a marine layer hanging over the area at the time of the crash, and the pilot did a "missed approach" and went around again to execute an instrument-only approach. The plane missed the runway by about 500 feet.

The NTSB said the 1979 Cessna Citation left Las Vegas at 3:15 a.m. for a 45-minute flight. The crash was reported at 4:15 a.m. in the area of Auld and Briggs roads, the Riverside County Fire Department reported. Deputies found the aircraft fully engulfed in flames in a field. The burning aircraft caused a vegetation fire of about 1 acre that was contained at 5:35 a.m., according to Cal Fire Riverside. The debris field was about 200 feet long.

Simpson said it was not a scheduled flight, which is not unusual, and pilots can take off and land from airports as long as they are open.

The NTSB is expected to be on the scene for one to two days. A preliminary report on the crash is expected in about 14 business days and a final report in 12-18 months.

Second deadly crash at airport: 1 killed, 3 injured over Fourth of July

It's the second deadly crash near the airport in a week.

One person died and his three sons were injured in a single-engine plane crash at French Valley Airport on the Fourth of July.

The youths, publicly identified by family as Caleb, Connor and Elijah Newman, were seriously hurt when the Cessna 172 that their father, 39-year-old Jared Alan Newman of Temecula, was piloting went down shortly after departing the airfield just before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

The FAA said the plane crashed shortly after taking off. A map of the area indicated the plane crashed to the east of the airport's runway.

City News Service contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Six people killed in French Valley plane crash identified