Dear J-
Our big news of the day is that a military jet on a training flight — to be exact, an F/A-18 off the Lincoln — struck houses in the University City neighborhood of San Diego today around noon. The jet reported experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff, and was instructed to divert to Miramar; en route, the second engine cut out and the pilot, unable to get back to the ocean, aimed at a deserted canyon. If you’ll recall, Miramar is the former home of the TOPGUN school
The local news has a small squadron of reporters deployed on the ground, one anchor in front of the main crash site and others, in descending order of importance, in front of other random sites: one where the canopy landed, draped over someone’s side fence; one in front of the Naval Hospital, where the pilot was taken after ejecting (photos show he’s physically okay — he walked away from it). The houses struck were gutted and the residents were killed.
I ride my bike near the crash site every day to and from the vanpool; I mumble under my breath at the thoughtlessness of city planning (there’s a bike lane that keeps disappearing and reappearing along Governor Drive) that’s warned me into religiously charging my lights and making sure I’m as visible as possible to traffic; I can’t imagine how difficult it would be to thread the needle with a fighter without power. I’ve hiked in that canyon which is, aside from the railroad tracks, as deserted as can be. I pray for the pilot’s continued sanity tonight.
Mike
Dear J- 
9 December 2008 at 5:46 am |
When I saw the news on Television last night, I immediately thought of you and hoped that you and your family were okay. It certainly must have been some exciting times around there.
9 December 2008 at 8:33 pm |
We’re safe — our neighborhood isn’t in the general flight path for Miramar, though it’s not far off. I should mention that there were two kids in the house — two months and fifteen months old; and I can’t imagine what the father, who was away on business at the time, must be feeling, thinking.