F/A-18 Crashes into Neighborhood

[Le Goat]

SAN DIEGO – 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.
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."
Neighbor Ben Dishman told MSNBC that the crash shook his house about a block away in the densely populated area and that officials were warning residents to move back.
"I knew definitely it was an explosion. ... It was pretty strong," Dishman said.
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.

[redsox39]

If no one was hurt? Must have been a Republican area...

[Le Goat]

there's another area?

[redsox39]

So it wasn't downtown then?

[Crack]

So it wasn't downtown then?


It would have been knocked out w/ an RPG or something before it hit the ground.

[Alcestis]

SAN DIEGO – 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.
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."
Neighbor Ben Dishman told MSNBC that the crash shook his house about a block away in the densely populated area and that officials were warning residents to move back.
"I knew definitely it was an explosion. ... It was pretty strong," Dishman said.
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.

WWW.MSNBC.MSN.COM (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28115760)

A Miramar spokeswoman said base workers were sent to the crash site.

"We are still trying to confirm the aircraft even belongs to us," said Marine Staff Sgt. Bobbie Bryant.

The F-18 is a supersonic jet used widely in the Marine Corps and Navy.

[Nature's Folly]

so wow, that's not troubling at all.

[Alcestis]

Update:

SAN DIEGO - San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said two people died on the ground after a fighter jet crashed in a city neighborhood.

Military officials said the pilot ejected safely from his plane moments before it crashed around noon Monday. Two homes were destroyed and a third was damaged.

The F/A-18D Hornet jet crashed as it prepared to land at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. The fiery crash occurred two miles from the Southern California base.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor did not know the pilot's condition or how many people were in the plane before it crashed near Interstate 805. KNSD-TV reported the pilot was at Balboa Naval Hospital. No details were available on the victims.

Same above link.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28118086/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/1/

^ aerial view

[Skybase]

Well at least the pilot ejected safely....

[tockit]

If no one was hurt? Must have been a Republican area...
I heard that the 2 republicans that live in San Diego had gone to Vegas for the week! :D

[Archangel]

Its official designation, reflecting its multi-role nature, is F/A-18...


And yes, I am a pedantic jackass.

[Kerjack]

I was reading a flight magazine in a doctors office when I first saw the news on TV. I'm not sure why but I don't think any other news story this year has made me so sad and bothered.

[Morfin]

This wouldn't have happened if The Great Santini had been the pilot.

[riseabove!]

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE!

[Alcestis]

SAN DIEGO - Authorities say the death toll from a military jet crash in a San Diego neighborhood stands at four after a toddler's body was found.

Fire Department spokesman Maurice Luque says the body of 15-month-old Grace Yoon was found Tuesday in the home where three other family members died.

The Rev. Kevin Lee of the Korean United Methodist Church says the other victims were Young Mi Yoon, who was in her mid-30s; her 2-month-old daughter, Rachel; and her mother, Suk Im Kim.

Lee says the grandmother had recently arrived from South Korea to help care for the infant.

Both engines on the jet failed while it tried to land at a nearby Marine base Monday. The pilot ejected before the crash. Both engines of the jet fighter failed before the crash, a congressional aide said Tuesday.

Neighbors were in shock
Neighbors were in shock at the tragedy that befell the family hours after the father kissed his wife and baby goodbye in the driveway.

The twin-engine F/A-18D Hornet went down about two miles from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

No official initial finding of the cause of the crash was given, but a congressional aide who had been briefed on the crash said the pilot had been attempting to land at Miramar after his right engine malfunctioned. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was not yet public.

While the pilot was on final approach to the runway the aircraft also lost thrust from its left engine, and the pilot ejected, the aide said.

The pilot ended up suspended by his parachute in a tree. He was being treated at a hospital...

www.msnbc.msn.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28115760/)

[Claydon]

Both engines failed?!


Wow.... some engineers from GE are going to be all over this shit.

[Rumpleforeskin]

Did he stall out?

[Limp]

Fire Department spokesman Maurice Luque says the body of 15-month-old Grace Yoon was found Tuesday in the home where three other family members died.

TARA WAS UNDERAGE AND NOT MARRIED WHEN SHE GOT PREGNANT!

[Kerjack]

Both engines failed?!


Wow.... some engineers from GE are going to be all over this shit.

My guess would be one engine threw something into the other engine when it failed. Doubt they are as good about containment as the newer airline engines GE produces, which are quite frankly phenomenal.

(Finally a chance to post this video!)
5xlObdXF8VE

[redsox39]

My guess would be one engine threw something into the other engine when it failed. Doubt they are as good about containment as the newer airline engines GE produces, which are quite frankly phenomenal.

(Finally a chance to post this video!)
5xlObdXF8VE

yeah, not very many reasons to post that video...

[Alphashooter]

From what i can gather. He was on a single engine approach when he lost thrust. That tells me its an engine computer problem. But hell what do I know. I've only been fixing them for 16 years now.

[Claydon]

My guess would be one engine threw something into the other engine when it failed. Doubt they are as good about containment as the newer airline engines GE produces, which are quite frankly phenomenal.

(Finally a chance to post this video!)
5xlObdXF8VE

dude that the GE 90, it is for commerical aircraft, and i posted the complete vid in the car thread.

[Kerjack]

From what i can gather. He was on a single engine approach when he lost thrust. That tells me its an engine computer problem. But hell what do I know. I've only been fixing them for 16 years now.

Yeah nuts to you!

dude that the GE 90, it is for commerical aircraft, and i posted the complete vid in the car thread.

yes, yes, and don't recall. (like how you possibly insinuate it is not fitting here but in the CAR thread... of course)

[Kerjack]

In other news... Jam jars and pulse jets. technically anyway.

AePLpM5SnqE

[Claydon]

In other news... Jam jars and pulse jets. technically anyway.

AePLpM5SnqE

i did that as a kid with white gas.

[Penguin Rick]

This crash occurred about 12 miles from my parent's house. My mom said she heard the bang, not surprisingly.

[Kerjack]

i did that as a kid with white gas.

What have you not done with Jam jars?

http://jj.am/gallery/d/69331-1/Missy_threesome.gif

[tockit]

Did he stall out?
Yeah, probably about 2 seconds before he bought the farm!

[Alcestis]

Update:


SAN DIEGO — The pilot of an F/A-18D fighter jet that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood and killed four people in December is being allowed to fly again, Marine Corps officials said Wednesday.

Lt. Dan Neubauer is being put on probation and will soon return to flight status. His case had been reviewed by two boards, one in his squadron at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and the other at Marine Corps headquarters in Virginia, and both panels determined he was fit to resume flying.

“It's not a disciplinary thing,” said Maj. Eric Dent, a Marine spokesman. “It's a matter of, is this pilot capable of carrying out safe flight operations?” He said details of Neubauer's flight resumption haven't been determined. He's been informed,” Dent said. “They're still working on the specifics.”

A Marine investigation had criticized Neubauer's handling of the in-flight crisis that led to the Dec. 8 crash in University City, two miles west of the Miramar runway. Investigators said the pilot failed to follow emergency checklists after he lost oil pressure in one engine and then experienced trouble with his jet's fuel-transfer system.

They also said Neubauer should have landed sooner, at the coastal North Island Naval Air Station, instead of flying over populated neighborhoods to reach Miramar.

But the report also noted that Neubauer was a junior pilot, with only about 150 flight hours, and that he relied heavily on wrong advice from superiors on the ground who also didn't follow proper procedures.

Four members of Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 have been dismissed and nine others were disciplined for their role in the crash. On the day of the crash, Neubauer was doing certification flights from the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln about 100 miles southwest of San Diego. The drills were part of his training to fly the F/A-18D Hornet.
After taking off from the ship at 11:11 a.m., a cockpit warning light flashed on showing low oil pressure in one engine. Neubauer shut down that engine and flew toward San Diego to land his jet.

He received conflicting advice from Marine officials about whether to return to the aircraft carrier, go to North Island or land at Miramar. Ultimately, he followed the guidance of superiors at Miramar by choosing to bypass North Island and head inland. His course to Miramar took him over Loma Portal, Sea World, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla and University City.

The remaining engine failed as the jet flew over University City. Just before ejecting, Neubauer tried to steer the plane toward an empty canyon. But it nosed down and struck the ground on Cather Avenue, tearing through two houses and narrowly missing the campus of University City High School. The four people killed were Youngmi Lee, 36, a nurse; her daughters Grace, 15 months, and Rachel, 2 months; and her mother, Seokim Kim, 60. The family that lived in the other destroyed house wasn't home at the time.

In their investigation, Marine officials linked the engine failure to a malfunction in the fuel-transfer system that Neubauer's squadron had known about for six months but failed to correct.

The crash caused fear among University City residents and prompted calls for the Marine Corps to end flights over that neighborhood. Some critics asked for Neubauer to be permanently grounded.

sandiego.com (http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/apr/22/bn22pilot10838/)

[Limp]

He did as he was told. I'm glad he is going to be able to fly again.

[Okie Medicvet]

Me too.

I still remember getting all weepy when I watched the live broadcast of the father and husband of the people who died in the house when he gave a statement to the press and said he forgave the pilot.