Plane Crashes Into Neighborhood Killing Six, Several Homes & Cars Burned

OneEyedDiva

OneEyedDiva

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Location
New Jersey
The plane took off from Teterboro (N.J.) airport. I've been out there several times because there's a Walmart and Costco right across the street. We;ve taken pictures of planes coming in for landings. The plane made all the way to San Diego, encountered foggy weather and after one last message, lost contact with air traffic control. The crash happened at 3:45 a.m.. Terrified residents could be seen running from their homes, some carrying children. What a horrible accident. Amazingly, no one on the ground was killed (according to initial reports).

"The co-founder of a music talent agency and two of his colleagues were among those killed after a small plane crashed in a San Diego neighborhood on Thursday morning, the agency said in a statement. The fiery crash spewed jet fuel and started a large fire that damaged several buildings and multiple cars, according to local officials.

The small private jet, a Cessna 550, crashed seconds before landing at about 3:45 a.m. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. There were six people on board, according to the FAA. An investigator with the National Transportation Board said the plane struck some power lines before the crash."
Video report:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/small-plane-crashes-san-diego-neighborhood-police/story?id=122068251
 

The story said there was a lot of fuel, but sometimes a little can look like a lot.

If it was weather, I am surprised the pilot didn’t divert. If he couldn’t find the airport without an ATC to give him vectors, he could have used his GPS or VOR. Was there a rotating beacon in operation at the airport? There are other airports in that area, maybe he could have asked them if they were or weren’t socked in by fog. I’m sure he had options for other airports, but his passengers may have wanted to land at or near the one they hired the jet for. I don’t like guessing without knowing all the facts, so we will know what happened once the NTSB releases their final report.

I am sorry for the loss of the people that were killed. Luckily, no one on the ground was hurt.
 

WhatInThe said:
Judging by the damage it seems the pilot tried landing on the street with all the damaged cars and some homes in it's path.

Would a no wheel landing been better in a grassy field?

RIP deceased.
Click to expand...
It would probably be possible to land this Cessna 550 on a grassy field, "but" the pilot should know the airplane inside out. A lot can go wrong landing on any other surface that a flat tarmac, cement or macadam surface. The plane is probably landing somewhere around 120-140 mph. Anything less and he may stall putting the plane in a nose pitching down position. If that were to happen, it's unlikely anyone would survive in the plane.

I did find the video, but it won't play. It's only available on YouTube. Sorry.

The plane did land on a levee with the gear down. Here is the name of the video, if you care to watch it. The Captain is defintely a hero for his passengers.

Miraculous Plane Landing on New Orleans Levee​

 
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Quite a history of air disasters developing in NJ. It goes back at least as far as the Hindenburg.
 

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