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| Science |
| Pilots eject as Navy jet crashes in Virginia Beach, wiping out part of apartment complex |
| 2012-04-07 |
| Emergency crews searched the charred remains of a Virginia Beach apartment complex Friday after a fighter jet crashed into it just after takeoff in what Navy officials called a "catastrophic mechanical malfunction." Two Navy pilots -- a student and an instructor from nearby Naval Air Station Oceana -- ejected just before the jet careened into the apartment complex, demolishing sections of some buildings and engulfing others in flames. Some 40 apartment units were damaged or destroyed in the crash, but hours later no fatalities had been reported. Seven people, including both pilots, were taken to a hospital. All except one of the pilots were released by late afternoon. Virginia Beach Fire Department Capt. Tim Riley said more than two dozen residents remained unaccounted for, although all but the six most damaged apartments had been searched. "What I'm praying for, what I'm thinking about now is that we don't find any more victims," Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms told reporters. The two-seat F18 Hornet had dumped loads of fuel before crashing, though it wasn't clear if that was because of a malfunction or an intentional maneuver by the pilots, said Capt. Mark Weisgerber with U.S. Fleet Forces Command. The jet went down less than 10 miles from Oceana. Bruce Nedelka, the Virginia Beach EMS division chief, said witnesses saw fuel being dumped from the jet before it went down, and that fuel was found on buildings and vehicles in the area. The plane not having as much fuel on board "mitigated what could have been an absolute massive, massive fireball and fire," Nedelka said. "With all of that jet fuel dumped, it was much less than what it could have been." The crash happened in the Hampton Roads area, which has a large concentration of military bases, including Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world. Naval Air Station Oceana, where the F/A-18D that crashed was assigned, is located in Virginia Beach. Both the pilots were from Virginia Beach, Weisgerber said. Weisgerber said he did not know how many times the student pilot had been in the air, but that the instructor was "extremely experienced." |
| Posted by:lotp |
| #13 Engines went down right after take off. Not many options - sorted semi vacant crash site, dumped fuel, and got his crew out. Sounds like top gun to ME. |
| Posted by: newc 2012-04-07 23:42 |
| #12 Similar crashes occur about every ten years or so near NAS Oceana/VA Beach, but very few had the miraculous lack of fatalities like this incident. Local gov is always tweaking the flight patterns and the Navy's nose...The local Pols "...love "The Sound of Freedom", don-cha know; just so long as it's faintly heard. -cz- |
| Posted by: canalzone 2012-04-07 23:29 |
| #11 Some sort of castrophic failure of the plane just after take-off, BP. |
| Posted by: Barbara 2012-04-07 13:14 |
| #10 OK, It did look odd though. I thought he was coming into land. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-04-07 11:51 |
| #9 Adam Smith weren't no jet jockey. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-04-07 11:18 |
| #8 After reading the article and getting a few more facts, he was outbound, trying to make it to the water when the A/C failed completely. So this truly was a "best he could do" for the pilot of a broken aircraft - I'd lay off him a bit if I were you BP. He didnt ditch in the water because the aircraft did not make it that far. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2012-04-07 11:11 |
| #7 BP, not really. It looks like they were trying to make the runway, which wasnt all that far. It all depends on the type of malfunction. Given the FI was very experienced, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt as to whether to ditch in the water, or try to make the runway. My uninformed guess is that he thought he could make it in and at least put it roughly on the runway (hence the fuel dump), and something else failed that prevented him from doing so. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2012-04-07 11:07 |
| #6 Very near water, a much better place to fuel-dump and "land" the plane on. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2012-04-07 10:45 |
| #5 Where's the rest of the airplane? I say somebody brought in a tail section and set off a bomb. I blame BushCheney. Well ... it's not that different from some of the 9-11 troothers. |
| Posted by: Bobby 2012-04-07 09:17 |
| #4 APee Report says all are accounted for now. |
| Posted by: lotp 2012-04-07 08:48 |
| #3 Dramatic photos and a few more details here |
| Posted by: lotp 2012-04-07 08:46 |
| #2 Three still unaccounted for in this apartment complex for the elderly. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-04-07 07:26 |
| #1 Truly a miracle if it turns out none died. |
| Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 2012-04-07 00:18 |