UC Irvine Professor, Wife Killed In San Diego County Plane Crash

CORONA DEL MAR, CA – A couple killed in a plane crash this week in San Diego County were identified Wednesday as an Orange County professor and his wife. Dr. John Longhurst, 70, and his wife, Cherril, 71, were killed in the Tuesday morning crash in Santee, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Longhurst, a cardiologist who specialized in cardiovascular disease and prevention, was a professor at the University of Irvine School of Medicine. He chaired the Department of Medicine from 1998 to 2001, according to the university's website. He also served as chief of the cardiology division from 1998 to 2002.

In addition, he held a joint appointment as a professor with the Department of Biomedical Engineering in the UCI Henry Samueli School of Engineering. He was also director emeritus of the Susan Samuel Center for Integrative Medicine.

The couple resided in the Corona del Mar area of Newport Beach, according to the Medical Examiner's Office.

The couple's Cessna 182 Skylane departed from Gillespie Field in El Cajon and was headed west when it turned around, lost power and crashed into a storage yard at Cuyamaca Street and Prospect Avenue shortly before 7 a.m., authorities said.

The couple died in the crash. One of the two dogs on the plane died, while the other was injured. No one on the ground was hurt.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash.

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2 Killed In Plane Crash In Santee

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