F/A-18 had chance to land before deadly crash

[unhappycamper]

Part of the engine from an F/A-18 is seen burning after it crashed into a home in a San Diego residential neighborhood, killing four members of a family.


F/A-18 had chance to land before deadly crash
By Michael R. Blood and Elliot Spagat - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 3, 2009 20:44:43 EST

SAN DIEGO — A pilot struggling to control a crippled Marine Corps jet bypassed a chance to land at a coastal Navy base and flew toward an inland base instead, where minutes later the fighter crashed into a San Diego neighborhood and killed four people, recordings released Tuesday revealed.

Military officials announced they had disciplined 13 Marines for a series of avoidable mechanical and human errors that led to the crash, which killed four members of the same family, including two children.

“It was collectively bad decision making,” said Col. John Rupp, operations officer for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.

Recordings of conversations between federal air controllers and the pilot of the F/A-18D Hornet show the pilot was repeatedly offered a chance to land the plane at the Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado. The base sits at the tip of a peninsula with a flight path over water.

Instead, the Federal Aviation Administration tapes disclose that the pilot decided to fly the jet, which had lost one engine and was showing signs of trouble with the second, to the Miramar base, which is about 10 miles north of Coronado.


Rest of article at: http://navytimes.com/news/2009/03/ap_marines_hornet_crash_030309/%2e