Posted on 12/08/2008 3:30:06 PM PST by scottinoc
SAN DIEGO -- An FA-18 Hornet fighter jet crashed in a University City neighborhood near I-805 and Genessee shortly before noon Monday, destroying two homes in a blaze that sent a thick black plume of smoke into the sky. The pilot was able to eject from the aircraft before the crash and has been transported to a local hospital in "mild" condition.
(Excerpt) Read more at 10news.com ...
Oh no! I heard on the radio there were no deaths. Sorry to hear of this.
I’m probably wrong here, but it seems the pilot should have ridden it out to the ground to keep trying to miss anyone in the plane’s path...
Apparently the 2 dead were not in the destroyed houses. 2 are still unaccounted for. This is a tradegy for the families of the dead, also for the pilot who I’m sure did everything he could to avoid civilian danger. Must have been a sudden emergency.
If you have no control, get out.
well, that’s what my father did
not that anyone ever remembers or cares except the family
a la the movie "The Great Santini". But if a pilot has that much control over an aircraft, they could choose to eject over a clear area or over water.
At the present time, the text of the news report seems to be at odds with the headline.
omg what happened?
I don’t accept such 2nd-guessing without information. You are assuming that (1) the pilot still had any significant control of the plane at that point, and (2) there was any way possible to “ride it out” away from that neighborhood. Sometimes the pilot’s only remaining decision at that point is to live or die.... or at least to try to live.
That's not easy to do on approach to Miramar with a crippled plane.
He died at age 34 by refusing to bail out of a crippled jet and rode it into the ground away from a town
I doubt anyone there even knows about it anymore, it was 50 years ago
At least this F-18 pilot will see his kids grow up
I believe military SOP is that the pilot eject, not wait too long and die
Are you going to stick with your post and ride it in?
The jet hit the pavement on Cather Avenue near Huggins Street, just short of Rose Canyon open space and Interstate 805, he said. The impact sent debris flying between two houses, setting three of them on fire. He said two houses were destroyed by the flames.
“He was trying to get to the canyon,” Connor said. “He held on as long as could. At the last second, the pilot parachuted out.”
Looks like he tried.
50 years ago military aircraft accidents were more common. And the ejection seats didn’t have near the capability.
Advancements in technology have made both much safer.
God bless your Dad.
Was he military?
I think that happens a lot, people do the right thing and no one ever knows about it or remembers it. And yet people who do terrible things are never forgotten. There should be a memorial for your father for what he did. I for one am very sorry that you lost him especially since he was so young. What an incredibly brave and honorable person he was.
IF a Jet is uncontroable, as in, the jet was not flyable, thus the crash.
I live in San Diego and the local news does not fault the pilot
God bless your father.
Real heroes never get acknowledged because that is not what they seek.
But now, a few anonymous FRiends do remember, and care.
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