Jet Pilot Had Chance To Land Before Crash

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CBS News/AP

The pilot of a malfunctioning military jet that crashed into a San Diego neighborhood and killed four was offered the chance shortly before impact to land on a runway with an approach over open water, federal records showed Tuesday.

Recordings of conversations between federal air controllers and the pilot reveal the pilot of the ailing F/A18D Hornet at least twice was offered a chance to put down the plane at the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado. The base sits at the tip of a peninsula with a flight path from the south over water.

Instead, the Federal Aviation Administration tapes disclose the pilot decided to fly the jet, which had lost one engine and was having signs of trouble with the second engine, to the inland Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, which is about 10 miles north of Coronado.

That route took him over the University City neighborhood, where the Dec. 8 crash incinerated two homes and damaged three others.

Meanwhile, officials in Washington, D.C., said 13 Marine Corps personnel have been disciplined for errors involved in the crash. Service officials told members of Congress on Tuesday that four Marine Corps officers have been relieved of duty for directing the Hornet to fly over the residential area. Nine other military personnel received lesser reprimands. Officials said the pilot should have been told to fly over San Diego Bay and land at Coronado.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/03/national/main4841346.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

[UTUSN]

1. Was the pilot Shrub or Mc5PLANES. n/t

[aggiesal]

4. The pilot will run for office, ...

never making reference to this incident.
Daddy, will probably have the record expunged, and
in 30 years will be voted the next Repug President.

:sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[harun]

18. Not listening to peoples advice and it costing peoples lives is what they call "Repug street cred"

[bdab1973]

23. I've turned down ATC "advice" on many occasions...

they often don't know your situation because they aren't in the airplane with you...plus, if they give you bad advice and it hurts the situation instead of helping, they aren't the ones that will die. So that's why it's always the pilot's decision, not ATCs.

[Downwinder]

2. Give that man a BONUS,

he's a f***up.

[bertman]

3. At least SOMEBODY got disciplined for that fuckup. Every single military type that

fucked up on 9-11 got away scot free.

[JohnyCanuck]

5. Unless maybe they didn't really fuck up.

nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

[bertman]

9. Do ya mean?? Do ya rilly think?? Aw come on now.

NOT in Amerika.


:wow:

[bdab1973]

22. Those that screwed up were primarily maintenance...

They let an airplane fly with a known fuel supply problem. It's ultimately the pilot's decision to accept or reject the aircraft, but that's assuming he knew about the problem and/or had the experience to understand how it affected the aircraft. The pilot was a student and was new to the F/A-18, so it's quite possible the mx folks told him it was ok and he took the aircraft. I've had plenty of mx folks tell me "aw, it'll be fine", and then it falls to me to decide if the discrepancy is really fine or not. Sometimes they aren't a big deal...sometimes they are.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

6. every frickin' day

I have to hear eight or ten flights of four F-18's taking off from Miramar every friggin' day. Right over my head, along with an endless parade of choppers. I have to bite my tongue every time my boss comments on "the sound of freedom" or some other such nonsense.

That this is due to incompetence is no surprise. I suspect these accidents are actually somewhat welcome. A fearful populaation supports its military. After a while, the ultimate source of the fear ceases to matter.

The day of that crash, almost everyone thought the same thing, "that could have been us." Cha-ching.

[saigon68]

7. That's the sound of FASCISM

"the sound of freedom" my ass

They are wasting time, money and lives by bombing guys in mud huts

[Hawkowl]

15. Fascism indeed.

That is exactly how I feel in Portland, OR listening to the goddamn F15's wasting money and making noise. Be Afraid! And I'm an airline pilot for chrissake.

[izquierdista]

16. How I knew I left America

When the sound of military jets and police helicopters was no longer audible. Peaceful quiet with no roar or chop-chop-chop overhead. And in the rest of the world, when you hear those sounds, take cover, for the Americans are trying to spread their fascism "freedom" again.

[Magleetis]

8. Sounds like the pilot

was having an internal battle of ego vs. intellect. Looks like ego won.

[bertman]

10. What ever happened to air traffic controllers ORDERING the pilot to the safer spot?

Sounds like somebody "forgot" to do that.

I have a feeling you're right about the ego.

[Downwinder]

11. The pilot has the final say, until he is on the ground.

[bertman]

12. Then they need to change the name to air traffic RECOMMENDERS. I don't question

your knowledge of this, but it makes no sense whatsoever for the pilot, who only is allegedly in control of HIS/HER aircraft, to make those decisions when the ATC's have access to all the other info.

[bdab1973]

21. The pilot-in-command is ALWAYS the final authority on the operation of any aircraft

It's always been that way and always will be.

[bdab1973]

20. Ego likely played no role in this...

I've suffered engine failures before and have flown back to home base many times. It's the "norm". Engines don't fail that often, and it's extremely rare to lose two.

[Magleetis]

24. The

"norm" cost a man his family. I am not a pilot but I have been around many military aviators. In my mind if you are flying a plane that is having problems and you are over or potentially could be over a residential area you set it down the first chance you have. No reason to try to be superpilot.

[bdab1973]

25. I lost an engine over Iraq once...

and I flew it all the way back to Kuwait. No super-pilot skills needed, it flew just fine. My ego did not drive the decision to return to Kuwait either.

[Magleetis]

26. Thats a little different

then fucking up and crashing into a house and killing the occupants. My point is don't fly over houses in a broken aircraft if you don't have to.

[bdab1973]

27. I have flown over cities with an engine failed on a few occasions...

The Iraq example, we flew over Kuwait City to recover...another time I flew over the suburbs of Little Rock with an engine failed...a third time I had a shut an engine down and landed at Eglin, flying over several neighborhoods just south of the field. The only time I had to can an engine and managed to land without flying over many homes was at Dyess AFB, where the airfield is out past the city in open Texas country.

[margotb822]

13. Am I the only one who thinks this is sad?

I live in San Diego (and I'm in the Navy, but not a pilot). All these mistakes compound and end up taking one man's whole family. It's sad to hear that it might have been prevented. When this happened, I was giving the pilot the benefit of the doubt, but now it's obviously just not that simple.

[Bluebear]

14. Of course not, it's completely tragic

[chimpyisstillsatan]

19. Sad doesn't begin to describe it. Watch this video

..to see the grace and beauty of humanity in the face of tragedy. Have tissues ready.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjHKxQp6BOo

I hope Mr. Yoon is somehow spared the additional pain of knowing the role the pilot and Marines at Miramar indeed played in the incineration of his young family.

No words can define the rage I feel at the continued militarization of our Nation. America deserves better, and Mr. Yoon has paid the price for our failure to act.

[BrightKnight]

17. It might make sense to move MIRAMAR up by Pendalton.

Even now the real estate would be worth a fortune. MIRAMAR is very close to a lot of stuff. Moving it farther away from San Diego International Airport would probably save the controllers some stress.