Man whose family was killed in military jet crash: No hard feelings
posted at 4:05 pm on December 10, 2008 by Allahpundit
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Strong reactions in the comments to last night’s Headlines item on this, and understandably so. If you want to write to him, the boss has the address.
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Wow. My deepest condolences to him.
rbj on December 10, 2008 at 4:08 PM
Liberals, I’m sure, are at a loss to figure out why he doesn’t want to have the entire military disbanded.
jimmy the notable on December 10, 2008 at 4:08 PM
I only wish I could be as forgiving in his situation.
BadgerHawk on December 10, 2008 at 4:08 PM
Just wow
Baphomet on December 10, 2008 at 4:11 PM
Why does it take an immigrant to teach us how to be American?
right2bright on December 10, 2008 at 4:11 PM
The article was one thing. The video just put a stone in my stomach.
I hope I can be as strong as that man one day.
MadisonConservative on December 10, 2008 at 4:13 PM
This wonderful man has forgiven the pilot for his loss of his family. I can imagine the pilot is going through he** now. Some things are out of our hands, but God helps each deal with these horrible things that happens in our life if we let Him.
L
letget on December 10, 2008 at 4:14 PM
Why does it take an immigrant to teach us how to be American?
right2bright on December 10, 2008 at 4:11 PM
_____________________________________
Most of here at HA DO know how to be American. I, for one, am very concerned about a pres. elect who disrespects our constitution. Now I’m called some tinfoil hat proofer. Go figure.
Hey, I wonder what this guy has to show proof of all the time? I’d like to ask him what he thinks of BHO sneaking around.
This man is a great american.
infidelgranny on December 10, 2008 at 4:17 PM
I assume it was a catastrophic-failure situation in which there was absolutely nothing the pilot could do to control where this aircraft landed. But if he did have enough control to steer it away from residential housing, even losing his life to save others, then I’d be less forgiving. If there’s a way to keep from harming civilians, that’s part of his job. But I assume that wasn’t the case, and he was out of options.
RBMN on December 10, 2008 at 4:19 PM
the pilot should have had some honor and gone down w/ the plane. don’t tell me there isn’t more he could have done in the time before he ejected and the time the plane crashed into a house!
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 4:19 PM
I’m sure that if there isn’t one already, a fund will be organized to help this guy rebuild his shattered life. Please keep us posted, AP, if you get aany more info about such a fund.
Del Dolemonte on December 10, 2008 at 4:20 PM
how about give this man his Legal status. God helps his soul for his Loss.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 4:20 PM
What a sad situation. What admirable dignity.
ronsfi on December 10, 2008 at 4:24 PM
after he ejected i should say
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 4:24 PM
Wow…
What an act of forgiveness and trust, both for the pilot and in God’s will…
Mr. Yoon is a man that truly gets the message of forgiveness and to trust in God that Christ brought here to us all…
There’d be no need for all of the ambulance chasers in this country if more people had Mr. Yoon’s strength, compassion, humility, and ability to forgive someone else for what was truly an accident; and trust that the other person did all they could to avoid it…
I’m not advocating forgiveness in cases of willful or criminal negligence or malpractice…
I’m just sayin’…
God bless Mr. Yoon, and grace him with strength and courage in his time of trial and hours of need…
We could all learn something from this man…
RocketmanBob on December 10, 2008 at 4:24 PM
From what I’ve seen on the local news, he lost an engine over the water and was trying to get back to Miramar on the other one. My understanding is that Hornets’ engines are close to each other so that when one has a problem it often affects the other.
I’m sure he did his best, but in retrospect, I wonder if ejecting over water might have been better.
Anyone on the thread who can speak to the protocols the pilots are supposed to follow?
Y-not on December 10, 2008 at 4:24 PM
This has nothing to do with politics!
Please, commentators (two, so far), can we leave this liberalism, Obama’s birth certificate and whatever else, out of this?*)
*I’ll answer my own question: no. But I hope I’m wrong.
YYZ on December 10, 2008 at 4:24 PM
Now this is an American, I don’t care what his pas
lavell12 on December 10, 2008 at 4:25 PM
I won’t… But, I’d like to ask you how many hours you’ve logged in an F/A 18? If, as I suspect, not many, then don’t tell me that you know there was more that the pilot could have done. My condolences to this poor man for the loss of his family.
kbfntc on December 10, 2008 at 4:26 PM
How long have you been flying F-18’s or serving in the Marines?
Alden Pyle on December 10, 2008 at 4:27 PM
Prayers and condolences for this man and the pilot.
jennifernaz on December 10, 2008 at 4:28 PM
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 4:19 PM
No, Noneya – you go crawl back into the scum from which you emanate. You have no idea what you are talking about.
Fishoutofwater on December 10, 2008 at 4:28 PM
I hope you’re right, and I agree wholeheartedly. Leave the soapbox out of this post.
MadisonConservative on December 10, 2008 at 4:28 PM
never have, but even if there was only 1 second left to control the direction of that crash I would have given my life to do just that.
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 4:30 PM
This is not the 1920’s where the men went down with the planes because it was honorable.
The pilot tried to get it out of the way of people… and since aircrafts have more then 3 miles of wire and other problematic features like hydrolics, brake leaks, air flow intake issues etc. It wasn’t like he could stop the plane and freaking get out and fix the problem.
A family died, give it a rest will ya.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 4:30 PM
Yeah? Like what?
Blake on December 10, 2008 at 4:30 PM
Have you seen the communities in California. The pilot did a wonderful thing.. by not spreading the carnage as wide as it could have been.
Go away.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 4:31 PM
You know that for sure? You know the circumstances – the condition of the aircraft at the time the pilot punched out? You know he had working flight controls and enough airspeed to effectively maneuver the plane?
Unless you know that it is a bit soon to jump to conclusions and impugn the pilot’s honor without knowing all the facts.
It seems amidst his terrible loss this man is more capable of understanding that than you.
RDuke on December 10, 2008 at 4:34 PM
When one engine goes out, if unable to be restarted, the pilot is to return to his/her base immediately…
While one engine failure on the F/A 18 may lead to an effect on the other it is not surely the case. Indeed, that is why they have 2 engines; it’s a Navy requirement that enhances their ability to return safely in the event if an engine failure/damage…
noneya, it is vile for you to suggest that this pilot was somehow willfully irresponsible. To start, he was in contact with the controllers at Mirimar the whole time. And, as the aircraft failed and was going down, he tried to aim it towards “the weeds”, in order to avoid collateral damage. Given the caliber of our Naval aviators, I’m fairly certain that he punched out at the last possible moment…
Mr. Yoon has both forgiven him, and trusts that he did all things possible to avoid the tragedy…
Why then can’t you extend him the same benefit of doubt..?
RocketmanBob on December 10, 2008 at 4:34 PM
Not me. But a military friend who lives near there, told me he was ordered by the control tower to head for land. I have no idea if it is true or not. Regardless, even if a mistake was made, no one had the intent to have this jet crash into a house.
Blake on December 10, 2008 at 4:34 PM
Wow. The stupid is strong with this one.
For the pilot to have died too wouldn’t have saved this man’s family, only added one more to the tragedy. Fighter pilots don’t bail out of multi-million dollar planes- especially over residential areas- on a whim.
But feel free to continue wishing death on anyone in a position to survive a tragic accident. Really.
Hollowpoint on December 10, 2008 at 4:34 PM
You are an idiot, and have no right to ask people to die vainly during a routine training exercise over civilian airspace. I am disgusted with your ignorance, your attitude, and your expectation that members of the military should willingly kill themselves because it would be the “honorable” thing to die in a training exercise went wrong due to full engine failure.
I grew up next to Miramar Air Station and I live now in University City, San Diego, where that jet crashed. This is my neighborhood. You want to know what happened? The pilot, a young pilot, had one engine burn out while over the Ocean, and was returning back to the air station when the other burnt out, leaving him with none.
He had no engines, which is why nobody heard the jet coming in when it hit. He kept the jet airborne for as long as possible, aiming for a canyon on the other side of the housing strip in University City (where I live), but he reached the minimum ejection altitude. At that point it’s do or die – if you don’t eject at that minimum altitude, you die. He ejected, hoping he had gotten the aircraft on a course that would have it crash in the canyon.
Unfortunately, he was 150 yards short of the canyon and his aircraft struck this man’s house instead. It’s a tragedy, and the pilot will have that on his conscience on his entire life. Given the situation he was in, he did everything in his power to preserve innocent life, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough. And what’s your response? You demand that he take his own life. Shame on you.
Tacitus_SGL on December 10, 2008 at 4:37 PM
What would you propose he do in that one second? Get out and knock on doors to determine which houses were occupied and which weren’t?
Go away, Internet Tough Guy. Don’t come back.
Hollowpoint on December 10, 2008 at 4:38 PM
So, let me get this straight. You have no flight experience in the aircraft went down. And then you second-guess the honor and bravery of the highly trained Marine that was involved. Stay in your lane sport because you sound like a complete idiot.
highhopes on December 10, 2008 at 4:39 PM
There’s a remote chance someone will be infected by your stupidity and die as a result.
Do the honorable thing. Kill yourself.
Stephen M on December 10, 2008 at 4:41 PM
Absolutely. That goes without saying (for me, anyway). I would never assume that the pilot didn’t do anything but his best.
And I agree with the others who have spoken with admiration for the father/husband. He is lucky to have a supportive community and pastor to help him get through this.
I don’t know if you folks caught the extra tragedy in this story which I heard on the news this morning. He’s only been in that house for a very short time and I think his mother-in-law had only recently arrived for her visit to help take care of the kids.
Y-not on December 10, 2008 at 4:43 PM
I saw a plane crash… and why I will always be scared of them. It doesn’t help when you lived next to a Air Force Base and watched it and you had a friend on it as well.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2DC1438F930A1575AC0A963958260
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 4:44 PM
Yes this is true. On the local radio station here in San Diego it was announced that the mother in law was also killed. Three generations of women in this man’s family. Very sad.
Tacitus_SGL on December 10, 2008 at 4:45 PM
Wow, I’m glad the fighter pilots on this site are second-guessing something like this. Schmucks.
It’s like second guessing bombing concentration camps or not. You make a split second decision and are honestly haunted by it forever. And ever.
This pilot did what he could. What he did wasn’t the best, but I’m certainly not going to rake him over the coals. I wasn’t in his situation and I’m sure he’s going to be haunted by this for the rest of his life.
On topic: This guy is amazingly forgiving. I don’t know if I could be in the same situation.
mjk on December 10, 2008 at 4:46 PM
i’ll wait to see the FAA report first. and i’m surprised so many are so sure the pilot is completely not-at-fault before doing the same. don’t we hold our servicemen to a high standard? isn’t their #1 job to save the life of innocents in this country? did the pilot do just that? i’m not so sure.
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Oh man that is tragic!
TDBURN on December 10, 2008 at 4:48 PM
So what about this could be his fault, exactly? What else could he have done?
Tacitus_SGL on December 10, 2008 at 4:54 PM
The Military and FFA both do a investigation. But it will be the NTSB who will be doing the main bulk.
Get your facts together!
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 4:55 PM
You’re the one who stated that the pilot was not honorable because he should have gone down with his Hornet.
Suck it up and admit that you spoke rashly. Skeptical is one thing, but your post went way past that.
I am confident that there will be a thorough review of this incident, not only of what the pilot did, the controller’s actions, the condition of the jet (and whether or not the Hornet exhibited any structural defects, which I gather from the early reports is not likely, but still something to verify), and the protocols currently in place for these situations.
I asked about the advisability of ejecting over water because of what I understood to be a chance that a catastrophic problem with one engine might affect the other because of the Hornet’s design… but I see that the facts are already coming out, consistent with another poster’s comments.
Y-not on December 10, 2008 at 4:55 PM
Thank you.
May God comfort Dong Yun Yoon.
Nichevo on December 10, 2008 at 4:58 PM
have you flown a military aircraft? are you familiar with policy as it pertains to ditching a plane with no working engines, which also means there is no control
STFU
UNREPENTANT CONSERVATIVE CAPITOLIST on December 10, 2008 at 4:58 PM
Noneya: Knock it off. No one believes that the FAA report would make a difference to you or that you give a damn about this family. You’re just a moonbat troll.
Blake on December 10, 2008 at 4:59 PM
No one left-of-right is allowed to care about the death of this generation of women? highly insulting.
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 5:02 PM
The military and the NTSB would conduct such an investigation.
Your response that everybody here is “so sure the pilot is completely not-at-fault” is comical. Most people were pointing out in the face of your certainty that the pilot acted dishonorably that we do not know all the facts yet. Now you have decided you will await a report before condemning the pilot. At least now you admit to not being sure – your initial post obviously assumed the pilot had ejected prematurely when he could have altered the outcome. You were the one assuming facts not in evidence.
One question: if the craft had lost both engines – they power the hyds, which move the control surfaces and the plane had somehow gone completely dead-stick, how was he to be expected to save any lives? If that is the case the aircraft was headed where it hit with or without him in the cockpit.
Perhaps you simply wish he had added to the tragedy.
RDuke on December 10, 2008 at 5:04 PM
Oh, they are allowed to, but you don’t, you narcisstic troll. You insult yourself by your comments.
Blake on December 10, 2008 at 5:05 PM
None of us have expressed anything less than sympathy for this family. But as for insulting, nothing approaches the insult you threw at the marine by calling him dishonorable.
Y-not on December 10, 2008 at 5:06 PM
Oh and BTW Noneya, FYI.
When a report is out it isn’t the FINAL! FAA, NTSB and the Military Tribunal will all come together to check on each others research and investigations concerning the crash and why it went down. Sometimes one agency has more information then the others and it will be noted in the report.
Also if you happen to see on the impact site… at most 2 totaled houses and 4-6 damaged houses. Which is a very small area for a Plane crash, especially a F-18 with probably half a tank of jet fuel. I am guessing the Pilot probably had done his best on approach back to the Base but couldn’t get it any further due to engine failure.
You really do not understand anything when it comes to plane I am guessing. It seriously annoys me when people assume.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 5:06 PM
I went to school in SD, and used to live very close to there. i think it’s in Clairemont…
that breaks ur heart.
Chudi on December 10, 2008 at 5:07 PM
Can you back off on this? Even the man who’s family was killed isn’t blaming the pilot. Why would you?
Esthier on December 10, 2008 at 5:07 PM
You are an idiot. I am insulted you are an American.
Yoon should replace you as an American and we should ship you off somewhere.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 5:07 PM
Man, that crushed me.
That fellow is a man.
TheSitRep on December 10, 2008 at 5:08 PM
I believe the pilot did as he was told. Since one engine was still working and he could have easily managed a landing at the base. It is a shame that the other engine went out when it did.
Having said that, I think there is a case to be made for ditching at sea but when all emotions are set aside, the military cannot dump every jet that hiccups in the water. The feeling was the thing could land with one engine.
Those of you who watch The Great Santini and think it is applicable in a situation like this need to get off the pipe. These are by the book responses and in this situation, things got worse. But, this is the price we pay to have the military that we do. I feel bad for this widower and appreciate the fact that he understands this was just a tragic accident.
Finally, I grant anyone their feelings here but those of you who exclaim matter-of-factly that he should have ditched it at sea need to be taken on a ride at the speeds they travel over that part of California so you can get a better appreciation of how fast they move. Once you understand that you may understand just how important SOP is. And once you have that down you should be forcibly ejected over the Pacific, you heartless pri&ks.
grdred944 on December 10, 2008 at 5:09 PM
This story makes my heart ache something fierce. I know that if my entire life had been torn apart like Mr. Yoon’s, I would not be fit to be in public, let alone making such magnanimus statements. I have learned a lesson here, one I didn’t realize I needed – that man has shown me how to take great loss with dignity.
I also feel for the pilot, because I am sure this will haunt him for the rest of his life. We have no need to second-guess his actions here – he’ll be doing every day to himself, warrented or not.
Anna on December 10, 2008 at 5:12 PM
Here is a link to a blogger and former F/A-18 pilot who lives in San Diego.
Lots of informed discussion here by knowledgeable people.
http://www.neptunuslex.com/2008/12/08/close-to-home/
Neptunuslex is a wonderfully written blog, IMHO.
NaCly dog on December 10, 2008 at 5:14 PM
A fighter jet is not a glider. If one engine was working, he would be directed to bring it back to base. If he lost the other engine, the aircraft will drop like a rock. From the time he lost thrust, he only had moments to eject. He would not be able to direct the aircraft away from anything.
Rogue Traveler on December 10, 2008 at 5:18 PM
I think we’re being a little hard on noneya. I believe he may feel the way he does because of similiar events have occured where the pilot stayed with the jet all the way to the ground and avoided civilian-dense areas. But maybe as another poster speculated that he had no hydraulics from both engines lost, thus no control surfaces would be operational (an unfortunate side effect of fly-by-wire controls technology). But I’m sure the facts will come out and we will know the truth.
It sure was hard to read about tragedy this over at MM today…man
MechEng5by5 on December 10, 2008 at 5:25 PM
Early 1970 we had an RA 5C Vigilante launch from the Kennedy (CVA 67). Port engine failed halfway down the #3 waist catapult and when the Vigie cleared the end of the deck it immediately rolled left. The RAN ejected at slightly above horizontal, the pilot AT horizontal. The way the pilot’s ‘chute opened, he had just enough height above the water to swing into the sea like a pendulum. Fortunately, the helicopter guys saved both of the crew. That entire event took less time than it just took you to read this. Most of us on the flight deck were still trying to grasp what happened and the plane had already sunk out of sight. My point is, it’s easy when you have the luxury of time to think about your actions and the possible consequences, but when YOU’RE the one making those decisions, you don’t sit and contemplate, you react. Just as as this young pilot was trained to do.
oldleprechaun on December 10, 2008 at 5:26 PM
While the pilot did not mean to kill anyone, the military did in fact screw up. Those jumping the people criticizing, did you actually fly or look at the facts here before jumping people who disagree with you?
Before anyone get’s even more silly with the non-factual support without a clue and insults me, I flew in the Navy.
University City is right next to the ocean. People giving the pilot a free pass take a look at a map, please.
There’s plenty of blue right there, in addition there is plenty of military space closer.
The F-18 is a very tough plane to stall or flame out, even with engine problems. If it’s starting to die, it’d be easy to take it out to sea and eject there. That is if you aren’t flying around at very low altitude with a damaged plane.
The person flying the plane is responsible for that plane. If a car lost it’s brakes, would it be responsible to just jump out? Perhaps if it’s going into the side of a mountain, but not in the middle of suburbia. Same analogy applies to a plane.
I’ll be interested in the FAA report, but there was a screwup here somewhere. There certainly was a major pilot error as his plane should not have been in that position and altitude to begin with.
I’m sure the pilot feels terrible, but at the end of the day it was the military’s incompetence here that caused this tragedy. The whole point of the UCMJ and being a member is accountability. Don’t try to ignore it here.
crscott on December 10, 2008 at 5:26 PM
The survivor’s guilt that both men will experience is beyond comprehension. May prayers to them both.
teffertoes on December 10, 2008 at 5:30 PM
I can only speak for myself, but I don’t think this is the place to rail on the pilot. This is about a man who lost his family but not his love of this country.
Esthier on December 10, 2008 at 5:35 PM
Did you happen to read anyone elses post before you claimed people… or person was jumped?
And the UCMJ and Jag Lawyers will give that young pilot his say so for the Marine investigation and to see if he was in error or if it was the Flight Control’s error.
But FAA is only a small protion as you know when it comes to Civilian death, especially involving a Military plane. I will be looking for the NTSB as their report will be much more detailed.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 5:35 PM
What a sad story. I hope that this gentleman can take some comfort from the support and prayers of his friends, and even from those of us who will never know him, but are still watching and praying for him from afar. His courage and faith are inspiring. May God bless and protect him.
AZCoyote on December 10, 2008 at 5:36 PM
My thoughts and prayers with this fine HUMAN BEING.
I hope should ever such a tragedy befall me, I could only hope to have even half this mans strength.
God Bless you Dong Yun Yoon.
RealMc on December 10, 2008 at 5:37 PM
Amen.
I pray for the pilots too, it is tough working near civilian areas, I was not a pilot but I do remember almost hitting irresponsible or sleeping fishermen without good lighting. I dont know if I could live with myself if I did hit them even if it were there fault.
Squid Shark on December 10, 2008 at 5:38 PM
The area where he crashed was 2-3 miles inland. That’s not a trivial distance when you have no engines.
Tacitus_SGL on December 10, 2008 at 5:38 PM
In response to those who are criticizing the pilot:
The man with the most strongest reason to condemn the pilot has chosen not to.
We Hotair bloggers have far less reason for making accusations than the victim of this tragedy.
Therefor, I think we should chose to keep certain comments to ourselves, out of respect for Mr. Yoons’ charity.
Johnny 100 Pesos on December 10, 2008 at 5:39 PM
It’s quite possible that the situation could’ve been avoided by a more experienced pilot or better direction from the ground. What we’re objecting to is the characterization of the pilot as a coward for ejecting. It’s quite possible he thought the houses below would be safe when he ejected and simply miscalculated. Or maybe there was nothing he could do. We don’t know, and should be hesitant to judge.
Hopefully, an investigation will help prevent similar tragedies in the future. However there’s no reason to believe the pilot caused the death of this man’s family through recklessness.
Hollowpoint on December 10, 2008 at 5:43 PM
For the pilot’s critics:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=University+City,+California+jet+crash&sll=32.858537,-117.178631&sspn=0.043331,0.077248&ie=UTF8&ll=32.8669,-117.188759&spn=0.086655,0.154495&t=h&z=13&iwloc=A
The airstrip to the east is MCAS Miramar. I live about a mile northwest of the crash site. This wasn’t “close to the Ocean.” He was actually pretty close to making it back to Miramar; ended up on the wrong side of the 805.
Tacitus_SGL on December 10, 2008 at 5:44 PM
The victim embodies everything that is American and Christian.
God Bless him.
As for me, I want to know why this man’s family and 15 month old child died.
I don’t support personal attacks on the pilot, but I’ll wait for all the facts to emerge before I give him a pass also. Regardless of your beliefs, his plane was the weapon here and the Miramar staff are the culprits.
crscott on December 10, 2008 at 5:47 PM
Amen Johnny 100
Johnny 100 Pesos on December 10, 2008 at 5:39 PM
RealMc on December 10, 2008 at 5:48 PM
WEAPON? Are you freaking INSANE! Accidents happen.. man made defects, human error or coincidence.
You are just like Noneya… an IDIOT!
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 5:55 PM
crscott..
I don’t know what map you are looking at nor can’t imagine you live here because if you knew either intimately you’d know University City is NOT right on the ocean nor is the base… The location of MiraMar is in fact almost 5 miles off the ocean. In order to get to the base you will fly over La Jolla, then the 5 then later over the 805. This is of course depending upon the approach.. The plane itself went down appx. 3 miles inland of the ocean..
I live here, travel by the base often and live just on the other side of a hill that overlooks the entire base…
As to the tragedy itself.. my heart goes out to Mr Yoon and admit I have no concept of the pain he is feeling at this time.
Given this is a military town my heart also goes out to the pilot who will forever 2nd guess his own decisions in those final moments..
Lastly as everyone knew here in San Diego would be the case a few assholes are calling for the base to be closed and the military packed up/out to the never reaches of the desert…
theblacksheepwasright on December 10, 2008 at 5:56 PM
Hmm and the business owners would sure miss that money.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 5:59 PM
I live near Oceana in VB, and there are people just like that here. The jets fly over our house, and I tell my kids (who used to be scared) that they fly to protect us. I know it’s got to be a tough job to fly an aircraft; I’m willing to give the pilot here the benefit of the doubt.
Anna on December 10, 2008 at 6:03 PM
upinak, glad to see facts and coherence are your friends.
Carry on, sir, but one would hope in a wiser manner.
Hollowpoint, I haven’t made any characterization of the pilot, and I distinctly disagree with personal attacks. Other’s feel that it might be less than noble to eject and live when your plane craters and kills women and children, and that viewpoint should be understandable, if not agreed upon.
That said, wanting the facts and to see the report and reasoning and not giving him a free pass in an accident that killed a 15 month old baby seems common sense to me.
crscott on December 10, 2008 at 6:05 PM
Nice. WTF does politics have to do with this, you lowlife?
Grow Fins on December 10, 2008 at 6:05 PM
Two young children were killed – the 15 month old an a newborn (2 months). Just to let you know.
Anna on December 10, 2008 at 6:10 PM
I live about a mile due south of the crash site, in University City, and saw the pilot parachuting to safety.
Terrible, terrible tragedy.
jsingood on December 10, 2008 at 6:10 PM
an = and
Anna on December 10, 2008 at 6:10 PM
It’s the liberal template; they capitalize on tragedy and crisis. Don’t like being typecast as opportunist scumbags? Then stop electing them.
Tacitus_SGL on December 10, 2008 at 6:11 PM
Excuse me, I meant to say “then stop acting like them.”
Tacitus_SGL on December 10, 2008 at 6:12 PM
I should also add..
University City lies between the 5 and 805 in this approach.
The plane itself went down in an area of UC furthest from the ocean. We are talking a few seconds more and that plane goes down in brush area or at the end of the runway..
theblacksheepwasright on December 10, 2008 at 6:12 PM
Interesting. For someone whom was a Navy Pilot. You sure don’t seem to know anymore then the rest of us. Actually I pointed out (as did a few others) about the NTSB… which gets invloved with ALL crashes, especially Military.
So when were you in the Navy as a Pilot again? 70’s? 60’s? I think I am right about this since you never brought up NTSB but instead brought up FAA.
I like to get my facts straight before on someone before they accuse me of not having MY facts straight!
Also the F-18 is manufactured by Boeing who will also be involved in the investigation as they do not need or want to have a lawsuit on a defective device.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 6:21 PM
He had no altitude, no airspeed, and no power. He didn’t have many options. The best way out of that situation is not to get in that situation.
DFCtomm on December 10, 2008 at 6:35 PM
we could all take a lesson from this man… simply incredible. I doubt I could be so forgiving so quickly… although I would hope I could be eventually.
Kaptain Amerika on December 10, 2008 at 6:43 PM
Culprits? Your choice of words proves you have already judged.
Blake on December 10, 2008 at 6:43 PM
I don’t know the answer to your question and yes I was too hasty to condemn the actions of this pilot. I was sad and angered after viewing the video. I hope I’m wrong and this pilot did do everything he could before the crash but nothing will bring those lives back.
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 6:51 PM
And I think we are not being hard enough. If you took the time to read her previous posts which I linked to, Noneya is a moonbat troll who comes to HotAir only to insult conservatives.
Blake on December 10, 2008 at 6:53 PM
Wow, Noneya. Welcome back to the land of the living.
Understandable to be upset at the video. But how about pray for the living as well as the dead. it could have been worse.
upinak on December 10, 2008 at 6:58 PM
As a former Navy avionics tech whose done his fair share of time on airbases and carriers, please stop saying things like this and blaming the pilot.
If you had any idea what kind of guts it takes to land on a boat in foul weather, then you would know better than to question whether or not the pilot did everything he could.
If you live near an airbase, you know how training sorties go. They aren’t very high up, there are lots of them taking place, and flying that low to the ground (which you can see they are flying in the video) leaves very little reaction time to the pilot should a system failure take place.
That being said, I would be more than willing to pitch in (the way we did when I was in) if someone decides to pass the hat.
I can’t imagine what this man and his family must be going through. We are fortunate enough in the US to not expect “Death from above” as an option when we say good bye to our loved ones before going to work in the morning. It is about as expected as getting hit by a bus when you leave the house.
I have huge respect for this man in his hour of pain, and as a private citizen I think we should follow his lead and go “old school”.
The older of you may remember a time when bad things happened (as they will) and no one necessarily sued, but the community came together, passed a hat, cooked a covered dish and took care of their own (amazingly enough without government intervention)
@ntif@n on December 10, 2008 at 7:03 PM
This is a man in the truest Kipling sense.
LimeyGeek on December 10, 2008 at 7:11 PM
Fair enough. I do feel sorry for you that your first instinct is to not to trust that a member of our military did the very best he could to spare innocent lives.
For my part, I feel grateful by the work our men and women in uniform do every day and am awed by the military hardware our engineers and technicians provide them.
Y-not on December 10, 2008 at 7:17 PM
I am vaguely familiar with the area, I would bet that the pilot felt sure the plane was on a course that took it out of any residences…but to put it in technical terms, the plane was obviously goofy.
You can bet the pilot is in deep shock, they are not trained to bail out and “let it be”.
And hopefully the man can resist the temptation (I pray he does) of the attorneys, but I also hope, with a minimum of red tape the Armed services takes care of him…
right2bright on December 10, 2008 at 7:34 PM
never have, but even if there was only 1 second left to control the direction of that crash I would have given my life to do just that.
Noneya on December 10, 2008 at 4:30 PM
My daughter in law lives a mile from where that happened. It is to difficult to find any space to crash a F/18! It is crowded with houses. The Pilot lost both engines. He had no choice. How could you wish the pilot would have crashed in it? That is pretty sick thing to say. A man lost his entire family. Yet, he understands what those F/18’s stand for. Mr. Dong is the Hero! It was tragic both ways. Now, this pilot has to live with this for the rest of his Life! Bless his heart too. I think that is bad enough. Very sad story.
sheebe on December 10, 2008 at 8:10 PM
@ntif@n on December 10, 2008 at 7:03 PM
There is an address you can get to write Mr. Dong.
sheebe on December 10, 2008 at 8:13 PM
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