Marine Corps defends protocol in San Diego crash

Marine Corps officers told members of Congress today that the pilot of the F/A-18D that crashed  into a San Diego neighborhood Monday was following standard procedure in attempting an emergency landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. They said he had no choice but to eject at 2,200 feet when his plane lost power in its second engine.

In a closed-door Washington briefing, the Marines said the plane lost power in its right engine soon after it took off from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln operating about 50 miles off the San Diego coast. The pilot was advised by the Miramar air controller to make an emergency "arrested landing" at Miramar. But when the plane was over land, the left engine also lost power.

The crash in the University City neighborhood killed four members of the same family -- including an infant and a toddler.

--Tony Perry

Read more of the story after the jump.

The F/A-18D is designed to fly on one engine, and a double-engine failure is virtually unknown, the Marines told the congressional delegation, including Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee.

Some residents have asked why the plane was not diverted to North Island Naval Air Station, where the approach would have been over water. But Marine officials said that an approach to Miramar was considered safe, even with one engine.

After the pilot ejected, the plane crashed into a two-story home, killing the four family members. The pilot ejected safely.

The Marine Corps has promised to study the maintenance history of the individual plane and also to examine whether there is a systemic problem with the entire F/A-18D fleet, officials said.

"The Marines are investigating the entire evolution of this incident," Hunter said. "Their findings will identify what happened and what might be done in the future to prevent a similar occurrence."

Comments

[mimi]

suit baby suit, take them for all they got, put them bchs out of commission

[theantibush]

"They said he had no choice but to eject at 2,200 feet when his plane lost power in its second engine."

Don't make me vomit.

"In a closed-door Washington briefing, the Marines said the plane lost power in its right engine soon after it took off from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln operating about 50 miles off the San Diego coast. The pilot was advised by the Miramar air controller to make an emergency "arrested landing" at Miramar."

The pilot was advised by Miramar...who cares? The absolute final authority rests with the pilot. Its God, pilot, then everybody else...including the E5 in approach 'advising'. Same with the 'maintenance records'. Irrelevant.

Planes crash, but this time the machine did a favor and said it was dying.
Next time listen to it before rolling the dice over people's kids and getting in over your head.

[robert]

In my opinion the pilot should have gained altitude with one engine over the water, should have stayed over the water, should have approached the North Island Naval Air Station and then ejected over the water. Once over the populated ground, when the second engine failed, the Marine should have stayed with the aircraft and steered it away from the homes.

[John S.]

On September 13, 1988 a Navy F-14 fighter crashed at Gillespie Field in El Cajon, Calif. Five persons were injured, including both crew members, when the jet crashed after the pilot lost control.

This crash 21 years ago resulted in a change of policy that all diverting emergency aircraft from ships go to NAS North Island. Apparently that policy was forgotten or ignored.