thedrifter
04-22-09, 06:50 AM
Last modified Tuesday, April 21, 2009 8:10 PM PDT
EXCLUSIVE: Pilot in FA-18 crash to fly again
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
MIRAMAR ---- The pilot of an FA-18 jet fighter that crashed into a University City neighborhood and killed four people will fly again, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.
Maj. Eric Dent at the Pentagon said Marine Lt. Dan Neubauer has been given probationary flight status.
"The decision to assign him to that status was made following due deliberations and will be part of his official record," Dent said in response to an inquiry from the North County Times. He declined further comment.
Neubauer was in the final weeks of his training to fly the FA-18 when his aircraft lost power in both engines and crashed on Dec. 8.
He had been practicing aircraft carrier takeoffs 50 miles off the coast of San Diego when the plane lost power in one engine. He rejected an offer to land at North Island Naval Air Station and avoid flying over population areas, opting instead to try and nurse the aircraft to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
As it neared Miramar, the plane lost power in its second engine, causing it to plummet onto Cather Avenue. The 25,000-pound aircraft skidded into a house, unleashing a fireball that killed Youngmi Lee, 36; her daughters Grace, 15 months, and Rachel, 2 months; and Lee's mother, Seokim Kim, 60.
Neubauer ejected from the plane at the last possible moment and escaped serious injury.
A subsequent probe resulted in four people losing their jobs for decisions made that day and in maintaining the plane ---- the flight squadron commanding officer, operations officer, duty officer and maintenance officer of the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 at Miramar. Nine other Marines and sailors received administrative punishment.
Neubauer was not disciplined.
Pete Field, a retired Marine colonel and senior test pilot who oversaw the integration of the FA-18 into the service's aircraft fleet, said he expects Neubauer to be a probationary pilot for months.
"The decision shows the Marine Corps has determined he still has value," he said. "They are going to watch him very closely to see if he exhibits any judgment problems."
Neubauer may fly with an instructor at first and possibly with an instructor in an aircraft next to him the first time he solos again, said Field, who is considered an FA-18 expert and works a private consultant.
University City resident Louis Rodolico said he does not believe Neubauer should be flying.
"I don't think he is going to be safe because he's always going to be second-guessing himself now," Rodolico said. "There was a decision made by a rookie pilot which cost four lives and that has to be playing over and over again in his head."
The Marine Corps could easily have forbidden Neubauer from flying again, but appears to be doing the right thing based on the facts of the accident, Field said.
"They've invested a huge amount of money and training in him and in this case, there was plenty of blame to go around for the accident," he said.
Training a FA-18 pilot from the first day of flight school to fully qualified aviator costs more than $10 million, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
In March, the Marine Corps said its investigation revealed the crash resulted from a series of bad decisions by the pilot and commanders on the ground. It also said a mechanical failing should have been fixed months before the accident.
Had different choices been made, the plane that had lost one engine and was not getting enough fuel to its remaining engine could have landed trouble-free at Coronado's North Island, lead investigator Col. John Rupp said during a March news conference.
The pilot, Rupp said that day, "did not comprehend the severity" of his situation.
The investigation showed the right engine failed because of an oil leak. The left engine quit a short time later because it wasn't getting enough gas, a maintenance problem first noticed months earlier. Even after that problem was first noticed, the plane flew an additional 146 times.
Late last month, the Marine Corps released Neubauer's account. In it, he wrote that he "screamed in horror" when he saw the plane had smashed into a home.
The man whose family died when that happened, Dong Yun Yoon, later said he did not blame the pilot and asked people to pray that he "not suffer from this accident."
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie
EXCLUSIVE: Pilot in FA-18 crash to fly again
By MARK WALKER - Staff Writer
MIRAMAR ---- The pilot of an FA-18 jet fighter that crashed into a University City neighborhood and killed four people will fly again, the Marine Corps said Tuesday.
Maj. Eric Dent at the Pentagon said Marine Lt. Dan Neubauer has been given probationary flight status.
"The decision to assign him to that status was made following due deliberations and will be part of his official record," Dent said in response to an inquiry from the North County Times. He declined further comment.
Neubauer was in the final weeks of his training to fly the FA-18 when his aircraft lost power in both engines and crashed on Dec. 8.
He had been practicing aircraft carrier takeoffs 50 miles off the coast of San Diego when the plane lost power in one engine. He rejected an offer to land at North Island Naval Air Station and avoid flying over population areas, opting instead to try and nurse the aircraft to Miramar Marine Corps Air Station.
As it neared Miramar, the plane lost power in its second engine, causing it to plummet onto Cather Avenue. The 25,000-pound aircraft skidded into a house, unleashing a fireball that killed Youngmi Lee, 36; her daughters Grace, 15 months, and Rachel, 2 months; and Lee's mother, Seokim Kim, 60.
Neubauer ejected from the plane at the last possible moment and escaped serious injury.
A subsequent probe resulted in four people losing their jobs for decisions made that day and in maintaining the plane ---- the flight squadron commanding officer, operations officer, duty officer and maintenance officer of the Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101 at Miramar. Nine other Marines and sailors received administrative punishment.
Neubauer was not disciplined.
Pete Field, a retired Marine colonel and senior test pilot who oversaw the integration of the FA-18 into the service's aircraft fleet, said he expects Neubauer to be a probationary pilot for months.
"The decision shows the Marine Corps has determined he still has value," he said. "They are going to watch him very closely to see if he exhibits any judgment problems."
Neubauer may fly with an instructor at first and possibly with an instructor in an aircraft next to him the first time he solos again, said Field, who is considered an FA-18 expert and works a private consultant.
University City resident Louis Rodolico said he does not believe Neubauer should be flying.
"I don't think he is going to be safe because he's always going to be second-guessing himself now," Rodolico said. "There was a decision made by a rookie pilot which cost four lives and that has to be playing over and over again in his head."
The Marine Corps could easily have forbidden Neubauer from flying again, but appears to be doing the right thing based on the facts of the accident, Field said.
"They've invested a huge amount of money and training in him and in this case, there was plenty of blame to go around for the accident," he said.
Training a FA-18 pilot from the first day of flight school to fully qualified aviator costs more than $10 million, according to a Government Accountability Office report.
In March, the Marine Corps said its investigation revealed the crash resulted from a series of bad decisions by the pilot and commanders on the ground. It also said a mechanical failing should have been fixed months before the accident.
Had different choices been made, the plane that had lost one engine and was not getting enough fuel to its remaining engine could have landed trouble-free at Coronado's North Island, lead investigator Col. John Rupp said during a March news conference.
The pilot, Rupp said that day, "did not comprehend the severity" of his situation.
The investigation showed the right engine failed because of an oil leak. The left engine quit a short time later because it wasn't getting enough gas, a maintenance problem first noticed months earlier. Even after that problem was first noticed, the plane flew an additional 146 times.
Late last month, the Marine Corps released Neubauer's account. In it, he wrote that he "screamed in horror" when he saw the plane had smashed into a home.
The man whose family died when that happened, Dong Yun Yoon, later said he did not blame the pilot and asked people to pray that he "not suffer from this accident."
Contact staff writer Mark Walker at (760) 740-3529 or mlwalker@nctimes.com.
Ellie