Death toll from California mid-air collision rises to five

By Marty Graham

SAN DIEGO, Aug 17 (Reuters) - The death toll from a mid-air collision between an executive jet used by military contractor BAE Systems Inc and a small plane over Southern California on Sunday has risen to five, according to a fire department spokesman.

The fiery crash left debris and bodies scattered over more than a mile and sparked brush fires in the area where the wreckage landed near the U.S (Other OTC: UBGXF - news) border with Mexico, San Diego-based Cal Fire Division Chief Nick Schuler said on Monday.

A twin-engine Sabreliner crashed with a single-engine Cessna 172 around 11 a.m. local time on Sunday some two miles (3 km) from Brown Field Airport in San Diego County, Schuler (Other OTC: SHULF - news) said.

Four of the dead were traveling on the Sabreliner, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner. The fifth victim was the pilot of the Cessna, which had no known passengers, the examiner's office said.

BAE Systems (LSE: BA.L - news) on Monday said the Sabreliner was registered to the British-based military contractor but declined to give any other details.

"While we are working with authorities to ascertain exactly what transpired, there are many details we do not know. As a result, we cannot confirm any names or other details at this time," it said in a statement.

According to its website, the company has a shipyard in San Diego and has contracts with the U.S. Navy to train pilots.

Debris from the collision littered a field west of the airport and caused a 2-acre (8,000-sq meter) brush fire that was put out by firefighters, Schuler said.

No one was injured on the ground, but a firefighter was taken to the hospital for heat exhaustion, he said.

"It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) appears it was a very violent crash, as you can tell by both aircraft being in multiple pieces," Schuler said.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate what caused the crash, an FAA spokesman said.

(Reporting by Marty Graham; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Susan Heavey)