Imagine waking up grabbing your first cup of coffee and going outside to grab the newspaper, only to see an F-18 fighter jet falling out of the sky. This is what residents of one neighborhood in San Diego, California saw earlier today. An F-18 spiraled out of the sky in pure Top Gun fashion on a return trip to Marine Corps Air Station Mirimar. The pilot ejected prior to the jet airplane’s impact with homes in the area. More on this news event after the break.
Two homes were destroyed in the crash according to the San Diego Fire Department. The only person aboard the aircraft, one pilot, was recovered after ejecting from the jet and taken to the hospital for medical treatment. It has been confirmed that two people have been killed from the crash, presumably from the two homes that were destroyed. There has been no official word yet on the cause of the crash, and Marine investigators have indicated the investigation will be ongoing.
The Mirimar facility is the same one featured in the movie Top Gun. The pilot was about two miles from the landing strip according to the FAA. The cost of the lost airplane was in the neighborhood of $40 million, but that doesn’t compare to the cost of the lives lost in this tragedy. More information on the crash is available from SignOnSandiego.com.
(Photo CC by Mike Coleman on Flickr.com)
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