Posted on 12/08/2008 1:11:28 PM PST by Rick Deckard
(CBS/AP) An F-18 military jet crashed in a San Diego neighborhood on Monday, sparking at least one house fire.
It wasn't immediately clear whether anyone was injured, said Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Television news footage showed one house and two cars on fire.
Fire crews were at the scene of the crash, which occurred near Interstate 805, reports CBS affiliate KFMB in San Diego.
The plane crashed shortly before noon Monday as it prepared to land at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, said Ian Gregor, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. The crash occurred two miles from the base.
The pilot ejected, Gregor said.
"We saw two big bangs," resident Scott Patterson told KNX radio. "The smoke came up. We don't know what it was."
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that massive traffic jams have snarled traffic in the area, making it difficult for firefighters and police to reach the crash site, according to witnesses.
The F-18 is a supersonic jet used widely in the Marine Corps and Navy.
Miramar, well known for its role in the movie "Top Gun," is home to some 10,000 Marines. It was operated by the Navy until 1996.
oh. Prayers!
I hope no one was at home! prayers for the safety of all involved. I live a mile from NAS Oceana and this has always been a niggling fear in the back of my mind.
The local news isn’t reporting any injuries or deaths. I hope it stays that way.
Only a few miles from my work.
We just watched live coverage of this incident on our morning news. It seems that the pilot is OK. We’re just praying that those houses were empty....
Just heard about that on the radio while picking the kids up.
Prayers for the community and hope no-one was injured, or worse.
I’ve always wondered why more plane crashes don’t happen in San Diego. The city is basically on a hill (several hills) with the ocean, bridges, beach, shipyards, etc. on the other side. It’s population-dense with not a few skyscrapers. It’s weird flying in their commercial. You have people from the upper floors of the office buildings waving at you as you descend through them to the runway.
Prayers for the airman and those who were harmed in this event. At least the pilot was able to eject into a nearby canyon.
their should be “there”,,duh
In all seriousness, hope all are safe!!
I guess the Great Santini wasn’t on the controls.
See the map at this link
The latest report was a West to East approach with a possible engine fire. Impact was about a mile short of the west end of the runways. It looks like the pilot was most likely trying to land with the wind, pretty much an indication of dire circumstances.
Two confirmed dead on the ground now, two missing.
The downwind leg for Miramar is usually south of the field. In the days of Top Gun, the 300 kt inbound would be west bound, north of the runway. A left break out of formation would leave the planes lined up eastbound, south of the runway.
It definitely sounds like an emergency to attempt a landing against the normal operating patterns. Good to hear the pilot survived. The two confirmed dead on the ground is not good news. Living in the flight path is a potential risk.
While this is nothing to sneeze at, it could have been a LOT worse.
Thoughts & prayers to the familes of the dead & missing.
Terrible. Prayers for all involved.
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