5 killed in small jet crash in San Diego

SDpilot

SDpilot

Well-Known Member
Another tragedy... what is going on with all these accidents? This is the second fatal crash in San Diego in nine days! And not to mention, the other accidents around the country... here's the link to the story:
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Aloft, you may know this....being from that area.

Isn't the crash site of this Lear roughly near where the Hawker 125-600 carrying members of Reba McEntire's band crashed crashed following a night takeoff from Brown Field in 1991...March, I think?
 
Brown Field

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Isn't the crash site of this Lear roughly near where the Hawker 125-600 carrying members of Reba McEntire's band crashed crashed following a night takeoff from Brown Field in 1991...March, I think?

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Yes. Both took off from SDM. The McEntire a/c did a VFR climb on a dark moonless night right into the tops of the Otay mountains east of the field. They were only a 100 ft or so from the top as some of the wreckage was found on the backside of the peak. This site has a pic of the edge of the mtns:
http://geocities.com/brownairport/

The article says "A medical air ambulance crashed in the mountains near the Mexican border early Sunday, shortly after taking off from a small air field in San Diego..."

I guess SDM is 'small' as it's runway is a foot short of 8K. Jeez...
 
Not exactly "from" SD, just lived there for 2 yrs--but I've flown into SDM many times and yeah, the mountains to the east can definitely present a flight hazard (as can flying left traffic to 26, which would put you into Mexican airspace on the downwind
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). In fact, east departures out of there don't make a whole lot of sense to me for any aircraft--much less a jet--in IMC, but it may be something the Navy has insisted on, rather than agreeing to the extra coordination of Brown departures with Imperial Beach and North Island traffic. Winds RARELY favor east departures there.
 
Re: Brown Field

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The article says "A medical air ambulance crashed in the mountains near the Mexican border early Sunday, shortly after taking off from a small air field in San Diego..."

I guess SDM is 'small' as it's runway is a foot short of 8K. Jeez...


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I get that all the time.

"Well, if you guys are in Bowling Green, we'll fly up there sometime and have lunch"

Reply: "Oh, we don't have an airport here - we always drive to Nashville"

Me: "No, Bowling Green has an airport.....we can fly right into there"

Reply: "Oh, you mean that little old thing? You can fly into that?"

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sorry my link didn't work... thanks aloft, for putting it up there.

SDM can get to be a hairy pattern. Flying left traffic for 26 would put you in Mexican airspace, and if you extend your downwind too far in right traffic, you'll come dangerously close to a mountain.. not San Miguel Mtn, but one just south of it.. just east of SDM, the MEA is 7000.
 
Oh jeeze, not another one. Where and when was the other crash??? I've landed at Brown Field before... those mountains to the east are pretty high!
 
Just learned through CAP channels that one of the pilots was John Lamphere, who had been a Calif. Wing check pilot before moving to New Mexico. He was a pilot for Med Flight Air Ambulance at ABQ.
 
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