I spent last week in Los Angeles, visiting my family for a few days. I had only been there for 90 minutes when a small jet crashed into my dad's back yard while we were washing cars in the driveway. The jet exploded into a raging inferno and scorched everything within 200 feet of it. The impact shook the ground and the sound was deafening.
My dad and I were the first people on the scene, as the plane very nearly crashed on top of us. We were already at the crash site. It was very obvious the pilots were killed instantly. All that remained was the tail and rear fuselage, occasionally visible between billowing clouds of black smoke. One of the engines was about 50 yards away on the opposite end of the yard.
This was on Jan 12 (Friday) at about 11am. The jet had just departed Van Nuys airport seconds earlier and had an immediate situation develop. Current theory states that a baggage door was left open, causing such a severe aerodynamic penalty that the plane simply could not stay aloft once airborne.
My dad and I spent much of the day talking to investigators, fellow pilots at the local FBO I used to fly at, news reporters, emergency responders, etc. and eventually a couple news channels ended up offering to buy the pictures and video I had recorded.
Anyway for the morbidly curious, here's a bunch of pictures I took of the scene. First pictures were less than 60 seconds after impact. Last few pictures were a couple hours later.
All in all... a pretty surreal experience. I always figured my involvement in aviation would lead me to close involvement with a disaster somewhere, but I never thought it'd happen while on vacation! Very unfortunate... senseless accidents are the worst, and if that plane would have stayed airborne even one second longer, it would have destroyed my dad's house and the two of us with it. I kinda appreciate life a little more now.
My dad and I were the first people on the scene, as the plane very nearly crashed on top of us. We were already at the crash site. It was very obvious the pilots were killed instantly. All that remained was the tail and rear fuselage, occasionally visible between billowing clouds of black smoke. One of the engines was about 50 yards away on the opposite end of the yard.
This was on Jan 12 (Friday) at about 11am. The jet had just departed Van Nuys airport seconds earlier and had an immediate situation develop. Current theory states that a baggage door was left open, causing such a severe aerodynamic penalty that the plane simply could not stay aloft once airborne.
My dad and I spent much of the day talking to investigators, fellow pilots at the local FBO I used to fly at, news reporters, emergency responders, etc. and eventually a couple news channels ended up offering to buy the pictures and video I had recorded.
Anyway for the morbidly curious, here's a bunch of pictures I took of the scene. First pictures were less than 60 seconds after impact. Last few pictures were a couple hours later.
All in all... a pretty surreal experience. I always figured my involvement in aviation would lead me to close involvement with a disaster somewhere, but I never thought it'd happen while on vacation! Very unfortunate... senseless accidents are the worst, and if that plane would have stayed airborne even one second longer, it would have destroyed my dad's house and the two of us with it. I kinda appreciate life a little more now.
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