Back at the Navy Exchange, Liberty Military Housing workers walked through the parking lot, passing out food and doughnuts to evacuated families. The agency, which manages the Murphy Canyon properties, was working to help more than three dozen families find temporary housing.

Dense fog had rolled into the area around the time the plane was approaching the airport. Visibility was at half a mile at 3:55 a.m. and had dropped to a quarter of a mile just after 4 a.m. in the area around Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, which is just a few miles north of the crash site, according to the National Weather Service.