Sad day here… brings back memories for me from the 1980s when an A-4 crashed near Logicon in Sorrento Valley where my husband and I worked at the time. That plane crashed in a parking lot between two buildings, with no injuries. Not so lucky this time, apparently. Sigh. Last report is two people still missing as well, so the death toll may go up. Very sad …
SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Metro — Military plane crashes in San Diego neighborhood
A military fighter pilot ejected safely from his plane moments before it crashed into this residential San Diego neighborhood shortly before noon Monday, sparking several house fires.
Two people are now confirmed dead on the ground
The aircraft was a two-seat F/A-18D carrying a single pilot from Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, part of the Miramar-based 3rd Marine Air Wing, said Capt. Stephen Paap, a Marine Corps spokesman.
The student pilot was en route from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, operating in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, Paap said. He was taken to a clinic at nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.
The training squadron includes both Navy and Marine Corps aviators, Paap said. He said he didn’t know which service the pilot represents or how many flight hours he has accumulated.
Witness Dennis Connor, 50, said he was on a hill in the neighborhood when he saw the saw plane coming in at a 45-degree angle.
The jet hit the pavement on Cather Avenue near Huggins Street, just short of Rose Canyon open space and Interstate 805, he said. The impact sent debris flying between two houses, setting three of them on fire. He said two houses were destroyed by the flames.
“He was trying to get to the canyon,” Connor said. “He held on as long as could. At the last second, the pilot parachuted out.”
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