F18 down in san diego

[Daveroo]

i dont have much..but an F18 went down in san diego shortly before noon pst today 12/8/08..seems the pilot ejected..but no word on his condition yet..nor on people on the ground...seems one house is distroyed and two cars...any one got more information???

[Quicksand]

Bad news, indeed.. I'll be praying for the pilot(s), as well as anyone involved on the ground....

[CodyValkyrie]

I JUST heard this on the news. I'll keep tracking it. I'm curious to hear what happened. I'm also curious what model F-18 it was (C, D, E models). I would assume that since they said "pilot" it is a single seat model...

[Ferry_vO]

Military jet crashes in Calif. residential area
Pilot reportedly ejected before plane crashed into neighborhood

BREAKING NEWS
msnbc.com staff and news service reports
updated 3:35 p.m. ET Dec. 8, 2008

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."

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.

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

[von Bek]

Also on the BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7772344.stm

[N2056]

I was not able to follow this much due to being at work, but as of now the local news channels are reporting that the pilot ejected and suffered minor injuries, and sadly 2 people on the ground were killed and apparently 2 are missing

Latest, according to one of the residents who was one of the first to get to the pilot and talked to him...
The plane took off from a carrier about 100 miles off the coast, and shortly after takeoff he lost an engine. He elected to try to fly it to Miramar and was almost there when he lost the other engine...

[Shylock]

Man this is bad. One of my buddies is based near there and I cant reach him as of yet.

[jmig]

Terrible news. My prayers and condolences to the victims' families.

[eddie]

Sadly, the death toll has climbed to 3.

http://wcco.com/national/fighter.jet....2.882480.html

[Quicksand]

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

Jeez I hate seeing this... So tragic and to be honest - angering - it's always small children never "the jet crashed into a known drug house where the occupants were killed as they manufactured crystal met" no it always has to be... (from Aeronews.net)

The Los Angeles Times reports two people on the ground were killed, with "a grandmother and two small children" who lived in the burning home still missing. The pilot's condition is unknown, though witnesses saw the pilot walking around "in a daze" after the accident. Witness John Kreischer told the Times he saw and heard the jet laboring as it approached to land at MCAS Miramar.
"It was must mushing through the air," Kreischer said. "It was chugging along with what seemed like one engine. Then I heard a roar of engine and all of a sudden, woop, dead silence.
"This guy could have turned it around and put it in the ocean," he continued. "He was never going to make it to Miramar."

Think there will be any fallout from this one? I hope so - in situations like this you don't even consider trying to save the jet.

-Ed-

Clearly the news has been updated since this but still - mother grandmother small children probably all looking forward to Christmas.

[Panther_99FS]

Hey All,

Jeez I hate seeing this... So tragic and to be honest - angering - it's always small children never "the jet crashed into a known drug house where the occupants were killed as they manufactured crystal met" no it always has to be... (from Aeronews.net)

Think there will be any fallout from this one? I hope so - in situations like this you don't even consider trying to save the jet.

-Ed-

Clearly the news has been updated since this but still - mother grandmother small children probably all looking forward to Christmas.

Pretty bold statements when a safety report hasn't even been written yet...And I doubt the safety investigation has even begun...


(and my deepest sympathies for the families involved)

[jmig]

Hey All,

Jeez I hate seeing this... So tragic and to be honest - angering - it's always small children never "the jet crashed into a known drug house where the occupants were killed as they manufactured crystal met" no it always has to be... (from Aeronews.net)

Think there will be any fallout from this one? I hope so - in situations like this you don't even consider trying to save the jet.

-Ed-

Clearly the news has been updated since this but still - mother grandmother small children probably all looking forward to Christmas.

Ed, I doubt the pilot decided alone to try and reach Miramar on one engine. Although, he does have the final say so, he would have been advised by senior pilots (don't know what the Navy calls SOFs?) who would have looked the situation over completely. You can bet an O-6 or above was aware of the situation.

The fact the jet was flown over a populated area leads me to believe they (a collective they) felt it fairly safe to attempt the landing. As the other Ed said, we don't really know any of the facts, other than it crashed and killed three people.

[EasyEd]

Hey All,

I don't dispute what you say Panther or Jmig - we'll see what the investigation finds. Maybe you know - will every detail be as public as an NTSB report on a crash since it's military with civilian casualties? I think there are risks that you just don't take.

-Ed-

[Panther_99FS]

Here you go EasyEd--> http://usaf.aib.law.af.mil/

I leave it to you now jmig....