Anything yet to indicate cause, etc. for the tragic jet crash in San Diego. I am already hearing judgmental critiques of efforts to get the plane out over the ocean and the pilot's "casual appeareance" using his cell phone after his parachute landing. It would be nice to have facts to be sure the record is straight.

Here's some news coverage:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081209-1108-bn09jetdown.html

Condolances to all involved.

That is always a chance when a pilot punches out. I have read/heard of many similar instances where the pilot tried to point the dieing bird in a safe direction. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...

You can read about the level of professionalism required of Naval Aviators (Marine pilots are Naval Aviators too) in their safety publication: APPROACH magazine.

http://www.safetycenter.navy.mil/media/approach/default.htm

The material can be quite technical and maybe baffling if you aren't a pilot or interested in learning the terminology, but you can get a sense of what the pace of events can be in emergencies.

I'm sure the developer got a good deal on cheap land under the flight path to the runway......

Next will be the obligatory call to close the airfield.

Check Yahoo maps for Cather Ave. Looks like they are really close to runway centerline at about 2 miles from threshold. Bad place to build. Noisy place to live (at best!)

The developer probably had to bulldoze away wreckage in several locations in order to put up the houses.

A very good friend of mine has a story - why he never met his Dad. West Germany, late 50s, early 60s (must have been like 1960), his Dad comining back from a recon mission in (I believe a RF-101, might have been a F104) - lost the engine. He has 2 choices, punch out, but the plane was heading for the local grade school, or stay with it, trying to get it away from the school, and punching out "late", and hoping the seat was good enough (remember, bang seats in those days were NOT 0/0 seats - His dad didn't make it, but the airplane crashed across the street in a field...

Lots of misinfo out there and a lot of folks saying the pilot should have punched out over the water. San Diego Union-Trib prolly has the best sources http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20081209-1443-bn09jetdown3.html

The plane was flying on one engine and had been for 100 miles after RTB from vicinity of USS Abe Lincoln. 2 miles short of Miramar -- low, slow, gear down -- the good engine died. FA-18's don't do well without power, the glide ratio sucks and the controls don't work -- so the pilot punched out.

Personal opinion: they could have elected to land at NAS North Island 11 miles south -- slightly closer to Lincoln and right on the beach. FA-18's land there routinely so it would be no big deal and much safer with an iffy aircraft.

OTOH, if a plane is flying okay on one engine (assumption -- was it really flying okay?), why take it to an airfield where it will be a PITA to fix when you can land it at homebase, replace the bad engine and get the plane flying again. I suppose those are issues that will be considered and discussed at length in the coming investigation. BTW, NAS North Island has a Navy FA-18 rework facility; they can fix them there too.

That said, I wasn't in the decision loop and don't have all the facts.

It flew right over my school... my teacehr ever stopped class and said "that doesnt sound right" at the same time i turned to my friends and said "that plain is waaaay too low". Some of my firends actually saw it.

Francis Gary Powers, of U-2 fame, died in a copter crash, at the last minute he chose to miss a bunch of kids in a field while autorotating down, crashed and burned instead. His choice...

Yeah - takes a pair of stone ones to make that decision

Just watched a family member of the victims on CNN, obviously traumatized by the loss, but telling the pilot to not worry about the accident, "he is one of our treasures", very touching from someone that is suffering through so much. Kudos to him.