Navy contractor jet was on fire before deadly California crash, federal report says

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Federal investigators say a Navy contractor’s aircraft caught fire before it crashed off the California coast earlier this month, killing three people on board. The Gates Learjet plunged into the Pacific Ocean near San Clemente Island on May 10 while trying to make an emergency landing at a Navy airfield on the island, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. The report says it was one of two jets carrying civilians to a training exercise with the Navy when the aircraft behind it noticed flames coming from a rear equipment door. The NTSB says the wreckage was located in 300 feet of water a mile offshore. The report didn’t mention a possible cause of the fire or the crash.