Planes Flipped, Person Trapped in Car at Montgomery Field

Sudden, heavy rains and strong winds like "a tornado and hurricane all at once" created some major damage Montgomery Field Tuesday evening, flipping over several small planes and trapping one person inside a vehicle as waters rose.

The chaos started as winds blew over a hangar and turned over small planes at the airport around 6 p.m. 

Duane Arena's plane flipped after breaking free from its chain-linked tie.

"They come and say your plane just flew. It's upside down. I thought they were joking," Arena said.

But when he looked at the damage, he realized it was all too real, with the chains hooked to a tie down "bent straight from the wind," he said.

A witness named Michael said it was the most insane storm he's seen in San Diego.

"It was like a tornado and a hurricane all at once," he said.

One experimental plane flew off the tarmac, over an 8-foot fence and on top of two cars.

One of the vehicle belonged to Michael Evans.

"I was just really shocked, shocked for a long time," said Evans.

Six small aircraft were damaged by the winds, fire officials say.

Hazmat crews were called to the area as planes began leaking fuel all over the runway. They wanted to make sure no harmful liquid got into storm drains.

No injuries have been reported, though there's no official word on the cost of damage. Some of the aircraft cost around $300,000, so the damage could top $1 million.

Not long before the plane devastation, a person became trapped in a car surrounded by three to four feet of water. It happened around 5:50 p.m. in the 8600 block of Gibbs Drive,

After some work, San Diego Fire crews were able to free the person. It’s unclear if the victim was injured or if there were others in the vehicle.

The wild winds were part of a larger storm that killed power to thousands of customers across San Diego and sent trees crashing down onto major roads.

San Diego County valleys and coasts were under a flood advisory, which expired at 8:45 p.m.

The National Weather Service warned residents to watch out for rainfall that could cause higher water levels in creeks and streams, as well as deep pooling on highways, streets and other areas with poor drainage.

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