[From the headlines at Military.com]
An F-18 military jet approaching a Marine base crashed near a busy highway in a densely populated San Diego neighborhood Monday, sparking at least one house fire.
The pilot ejected, but it wasn’t immediately clear whether the pilot or anyone on the ground was injured, officials said.
The plane crashed around 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.
Gregor did not know the pilot’s condition or how many people were in the plane before it crashed near Interstate 805.
A high school sits near the crash site. Television news footage showed what appeared to be the remnants of a smoldering house and two cars on fire.
Steve Krasner, who lives a few blocks away in the earthquake-prone region, said he first thought the shaking generated by the crash was the long-anticipated “Big One.”
He was in his kitchen when he heard two loud explosions and looked outside, then heard a larger blast.
“The house shook; the ground shook. It was like I was frozen in my place,” Krasner said.
“It was bigger than any earthquake I ever felt,” he said. “The flames were billowing overhead.”
Dean Costa, who was about two blocks away at his father’s house, said he felt the building vibrate, then made his way close to the crash site and saw two houses on fire and several cars explode.
“It was just crazy,” said Costa, 22. “There was debris everywhere.”
Maurice Luque, a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, said he didn’t know whether anyone on the ground was injured.
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 Navy and Marine Corps and by the Navy’s stunt-flying Blue Angels. An F-18 crashed at Miramar in November 2006, but the pilot ejected safely.
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.
(Editor’s note: Other sources report the aircraft was an F/A-18D attached to VFMAT-101. Although that model of aircraft normally has a two-man crew, the mishap aircraft was flown without anyone in the rear cockpit.)
– Christian
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
The nytimes is reporting two dead on the ground.
Irrelevant comments from “bob” aside, I would like to know more about this story, but I guess its just too early yet. How long is it typically before information about what went wrong is released?
typical marine bs response… name calling, bullying, no substance… you need to grow up… much like khe sanh, fallujah was a battle conjured up by the marine corps to justify their existence and nothing more.. if it weren’t for gunship support you would have totally failed… the debacle at desert one was entirely the fault of the marine corps, who claimed, falsely and arrogantly, that they were night mission desert capable, and that their birds were combat ready, when nothing was further from the truth.. you’re total non team players…
but you intentionally dodged the question as to why the marine corps even exists today, when other service branches are more than capable of doing their supposed mission..?
it hink your wrong about fallugaj iraq the marine corps did not conjure it up
Better a noble death riding the ship to earth doing all possible to steer toward open ground
than to punch out, letting whomever on the ground depend on dumb luck, and wind up a suicide in remorse.
Good Evening Folks,
This crash happened about three miles from where I live. It’s not the first nor do I suspect think the last crash of a military aircraft from Miramar into a residential neighborhood. Those who live near air bases should understand this.
According to people on the ground who claimed to have witnessed the accident there was a loud pop, puff of smoke, the plane went almost 90 deg. vertical, the pilot ejected in nearly a horizontal position. The parachute landed in some trees and the ejection seat landed in a back yard about 200 meters away, missing a woman in the yard by appox. 10 meters. This information is unofficial and I’m sure will be revised as the investigation of the accident goes on.
The remarkable thing is that with the noticeably increased operational tempo of the last few years at Miramar is that there have not been more of these accidents. Most occur at sea or in the about 30 sq, mile buffer zone on the east side of the runway where aircraft make their landing approaches.
As of 1917 Hr’s. this evening there are three people dead and one still unaccounted for, all in a single home. The pilot seems to be ok he was last seen by people of the neighborhood walking around talking on his mobile phone.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner
I like how the Marines keep saying that they won’t buy any new F-18s because they are waiting for the JSF.
Did anyone watch that PBS show about the USS Nimitz? They had a Marine Hornet squadron that had the worst readiness rate on the ship. They showed the planes literally leaking oil all over the deck. The CAG was not very happy about this squadron to say the least.
Wonder how much longer the Marine Hornets can last while they wait for the JSF……
I think I agree with tucanofulano – if you’re over a populated area, you display your honor and ride the bird down, even if you’re in a flat spin, so that you have every chance to protect the ones you’re supposed to be serving.
As a San Diegan since 1965 this is one of the worst wrecks but nothing like the mid air over a suburb, North Park in Sept. 1978 with 144 dead as a PSA airliner collided with a private plane. During the late 60s and early 70s Miramar was a Navy base with F4s practicing touch and go east and west over old US395. I do not recall any crashes like this latest disaster.
Apart from bob’s comments and political inter-services wars, isn’t anyone going to apologize? be sorry for the completely innocent girl and mother who were murder?
Isn’t anyone going to comment as wethever there should be military warplanes burning fuel at low altitude in civilian populations?
Aren’t they supposed to be protecting the coast, the frontier and the country against enemy nations?
Can’t they build airbases far away from the cities and have their sahre of fun & training far away at sea or in the mountains?
How much is enough for you?
“Respect” for the military is all-time low, and don’t even bother asking about the respect for USA abroad…
They should be making a statue of the innocent family and a stronger and more clear law & regulation explaining why the hell are the military (and their military bases and interventions-aka-wars) sinking family’s blood and money and sinking the country into debt inside and hate abroad.
Instead of three branches (marines, navy and af) I propose;
1
Bob,
Lighten up, kid….. take a deep breath and start over.
Thanks
For those that are suggesting the pilot go down with the plane, please step back and take a moment and let common sense sink in. If a pilot goes down with the plane, there would be currently 4 people dead instead of 3. Is that really the best option, to not only destroy a family, but also increase the number of casualties and destroy a pilot worth millions of dollars to train? Yeah sure honor is important, but in America we have common sense and realize nothing matters if you’re already dead.
This was a tragic accident. It wasn’t a “murder.” —- Miramar was there decades before these houses were built. — The pilot wasn’t burning fuel at low altitudes; both his engines died on him. The plane went down like a rock. — There is no honor in riding that rock down. It sounds like the pilot did the honorable thing and ejected at the last minute. There is a good chance he has a family and children. Making his children fatherless is not honorable. — I suggest you take some flying lessons before you make such bold comments. — This was a sad day in San Diego. Let’s remember that. I am sure the pilot feels terrible just like the engineer on a train feels when someone jumps in front of the train. Don’t jump to a conclusion before you know all the facts. He and or his family and friends may very well be reading what we all wrote.
Bob, I will say this once more the Marine Corps along with the United States Navy is the nation’s Quick Reaction Force. That is why we use MEUs and MEBs for, quick, strategic and devastating military action. I cannot make my point any more simple. The Marine Corps is basically the nation’s shock troops. It is not that hard to figure out. What debacle? Desert Storm was a resounding victory. The Marine Corps is not a support based service they are combat troops. Their objective is to defeat the enemy quickly and effectively, and for the past 233 years they seem to a pretty good job at that. You call the Corps ineffective after both engines on a Hornet go out and four people die in a ACCIDENT. If you want to call that the Corps’ fault maybe you should tell the government to increase the Corps’ funding seeing as they are the lowest funded of all the services including the Coast Guard. Did you really just call Khe Sanh fake? If so, that only shows the true nature and depth or your ignorance. Tell me have you ever heard of the Tet Offensive? Did you take American History at all or have you read a military history ever in life? Just be honest.
Justareader, you can’t place the blame fully on the shoulders of the military. MCAS Miramar has been there longer than any of those house or even the freeway. The buyers of those homes and the builders knew the risk of living near a military air base and under a military flight path. Why does the military have bases near major cities I can only guess. One would be because they have been there longer than expanding residential areas, two the location is an ideal place, three money, it does cost alot of money to relocate 10,000 Marines, their family, gear and planes to a remote base in the mountains or Sierra Nevada and its not practical. The military has been in San Diego long before San Diego transformed into the major Southern California city it is today, why should the military relocate? Because of one accident and because homeowners don’t like the sounds of jets landing and taking off? Homeowners should not buy homes near air bases if sound is one of their main concerns and they find it un safe.
i was amazed at what a non-condemning attitude the father of the family that was killed had after this crash
This accident saddens me for two reasons.
1.) Three people were killed. That is tragic to the families of those who did and you can’t help but feel for them.
2.) Folk who are not in the military, are not pilots (either military or civilian) criticize the Hornet’s pilot and the military in general. Comments like this one from another site:
“This is ridiculous! Bailing out of that plane should NOT have been an option for that pilot. Protocol demands that he should’ve done everything in his power to touch down/crash land in a non-populated area using every amount of control that was left to him. 3 homes destroyed, and a Grandma and kids slain by this kind of incompetence is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE and measures should now be taken to prevent this from happening again. I can’t tell you how bad I feel for those families who lost loved ones because of whatever happened. And does it matter if it was a mechanical failure or pilot incompetence? NO! There’s plenty of desert available for the flyboys to do their thing. Yes, they’re doing their job. Yes it’s important. But, no, we should not become victims of a disaster like this if it could’ve been avoided. Whatever happened to the Captain going down with the ship? That applies to more than boats. Utterly appalling! Say a prayer for the victims and cut the jokes.”
People, like the one I just quoted, are laymen to the field of aviation: particular military aviation. Such people make non-sensical suppositions as to what the pilot should have done or point out what he
This was a tragic accident. To all of you that are all about hating on the military right now its to bad that all of our men and women that are in the military give you guys the freedom to run your mouth like you do. Calling him a coward by all means why dont you guys join the military since you would make “better” choices!
As all the others have said, the pilot of the F/A-18 had made the correct decision for the situation presented to him. Cause if my sources are correct any pilot that is trained in any U.S. Military service is tought that they do not eject unless it is absolutly needed, especially if it is over a populated area. Cause as stated before the services invest a ton of money into the training of our pilots, why should we lose one when we ont need too…I personally want to tell him that he should have nothing to worry about, you did the right thing! And a pilot is trained to andle almost every situation presented to them in some way or another, plus ejection is considered a last resort.
Signed, afairman
P.S.- God Bless America and Our TROOPS…
Lets keep up the good work, hooah!
Perhaps a set of cables and quick filling helium
ballons are the answer to a jet losing both
engines. Seems like fuel starvation or flying
past a “no return point” caused this disaster.
Pilot did what he could but lets investigate the
Captain and those who sent him off the Nimitz…
as usual the facts of the disaster are not
released to the Public but sweept under the rug
to protect a high ranking Naval Officer. The Press
was not aware of the Nimitz as it plowed west from
San Diego. They ususally know approximately where
the ship is located and if it poses a threat to the USA.
My comment to those who feel the military should not have bases near populated areas: How many people were killed in San Diego as a result of the Sept 1978 mid-air collision of the PSA airliner and the Cessna 172? How many residences were damaged or destroyed? Now, how many civilians have been killed as a result of military aircraft accidents from NAS North Island or MCAS (formerly NAS) Miramar? Any aircraft flying over a populated area can cause damage or loss of life. It is sad, but it is reality. Homes are built in flight paths, and people buy them. The risks are there, and people know that.
For those who feel the pilot should have “gone down with his plane,” you people make me very sad. You didn’t even know the reasons for the plane going down, and you were making comments of this nature. As well, to state that it would have been better that the pilot died, too? Seriously, what is wrong with you? Do you think his family and friends feel that way? Or do you think they are just relieved that he was able to make it out of a crippled and uncontrollable aircraft? This man made a choice based off of years of training (don