Private airplane crashes into apartment building across the street from me. (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

Glad to hear you are okay, Jack. I know first-hand how you feel. About four years ago, a four-passenger Cessna crashed in our condo complex in Myrtle Beach, landing about 75 yards from my wife and our friend's 3 year old son (she was taking him for a walk to feed the ducks). The plane landed in an open area between buildings (about 50 yards from our building). All four passengers were killed, and a gentleman walking his dog about 25 yards from my wife was hit by debris and later passed away from his injuries. Fortunately, my wife and our friend's son were unharmed physically.

The sight of that burning plane and passengers is forever etched in my mind. We were flying back home to Michigan later that night, and it was difficult for both my wife and me to get on a plane that night.

 

[Shawn Solar]

Even worse Jack, you have no neighbours in the builing to complain about your HT and you can't even turn it on

But really glad your okay.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Thanks again for the kind words.

For what it's worth, the aircraft was a Beechcraft Bonanza.

The only thing in my experience I can compare that apartment building with is the carnage I saw in so many places immediately after the 1992 mayhem. From my kitchen window I can see where the roof is destroyed toward the front of the building.

Every morning, when having my coffee, I used to enjoy the antics of a black-and-white cat looking out the window from that apartment on the top floor. Every time pigeons and other feathered flyers would light on the power lines, the little cat's tail would wag wildly.

The people who lived in that particular apartment, I found out on the news, lost everything, including that cute little cat. This morning, when having my coffee, and looking at that burnt-out building, I started to feel some emotion.

This was a disaster and a tragedy that has impacted a wonderful neighborhood pretty deeply. A reporter told me that in her newsroom the first thing her colleagues speculated about was the fact this is the most predominately Jewish neighborhood in Los Angeles. Ergo, the start of the Sabbath, and an aircraft slams into an apartment building.

Preliminary speculation, however, still centers around the event being an accident and nothing more. Still, though, LAPD is treating the area as a crime scene.

Things have settled down quite a bit, though. Tents are set up on Clinton Street, right outside my window. I think residents have been allowed back in, as I heard the pipes in another unit running early this morning,

Attila has gone back into hiding and hasn't eaten since the explosion. That's fine. Whatever makes him feel safe.

I also have some comments about some of the local TV "news" crews, which I will bring up later.

And, thankfully, when I showed up on KNBC last night, I was visible only from the neck up!

 

[Nathan*W]

Watched this on the local Richmond, VA news (CBS feed) and I saw a glimpse of your building. They did not air any interviews however, but someone there had a camera out and caught the crash on tape and they did show the actual impact. (You can't go anywhere these days without someone having a video camera out and filming.)

Here's hoping you and Attila are no worse for wear. And hey, let us know when they let you back in your apartment.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

Happy you and Attila are safe and sound. Now stay away from those windows - I'm sure the LAPD/FBI/etc would find you in there a little suspicious.

Be Safe !

 

[Philip_G]

bonanzas are beautiful (and fast) airplanes :frowning:

 

[Josh Lowe]

I saw video footage of the plane going down this morning on Faux (Fox) News. Scary. Glad you're OK. When "Dave" makes his first insensitive comments about what happened, please don't throttle him and end up having to post to HTF from the prison library at Lompoc. I'm only half joking.

 

[DeathStar1]

>I also have some comments about some of the local TV "news" crews, which I will bring up later.>>

Heh, I had some experience with news crews before. I went to Ramapo Highschool in 1996, the same year the Peterson graduate and his girlfriend killed their newborn. IIRC, we had news reporters trying to get into the school for interviews, a camera crew waiting down by the student parking lot, and one waiting up by the main parking lot trying to get in the way of the students leaving in cars.

They told us what was happening over the loud speaker and said don't speak if you don't want to. But despite the tragic event these people where trying to get a story out of, I found the behind the scenes bits rather interesting to watch. Wish I would have stayed around a bit to watch things a bit more.

 

[Max Leung]

Sucks Jack. :frowning:

I'm glad you stuck around to take care of Attila! Hopefully he'll return the favor.

Has anyone got the video of Jack that I can download from a server somewhere? It would be great if someone took the time to encode it as an AVI or Quicktime video!

 

[Cees Alons]

Glad you're safe, Jack.
I suppose we will hear more background details during the next days. I read somewhere that 2 more bodies were found. One can only be very sorry for those victims.

Most probably the police made a wise decision to evacuate the neighbourhood as long as an attack could not be ruled out: if it was, another one (perhaps different type) could have followed.

Well, and I'm glad Atilla is safe too!

Cees

 

[Steve Schaffer]

This came on CNN just as I clicked on this thread, really tragic.

We had a Learjet crash into a street and skid into an apt. complex a few years ago. The pilots managed to avoid an in-session elementary school. They were killed and one apt. resident badly burned but survived.

I'm so glad you are ok and were able to find Attila. I know if something similar happened here I would be frantic until I could make sure my dog and cat were ok.

 

[Julie K]

Jack,
I'm glad you and Attila are ok.

 

[Jon_Are]

I saw it on the news, Jack. I'm truly glad you're OK.

Attila has gone back into hiding and hasn't eaten since the explosion.

If this keeps up, he's gonna be Atilla the Hungry.

(sorry)

Jon

 

[Jack Briggs]

As of 10:42 PDT this morning, the alphabet-soup mix of emergency crews—NTSB, FAA, FBI, LAPD, LAFD, as well as even some Red Cross workers—are working to extract what remains of the aircraft wreckage from the garage. I can see it all from my living-room and kitchen windows.

Yesterday was a bit grimmer. Though the forensics truck was parked about ten feet to the east of my living-room window, LAPD set up a tent and a large tarp in order to block the view from various media. But from my kitchen window, I was just able to see enough. LAPD's photographers were photographing the bodies after they were removed from the burnt-out, destroyed building. I could just make out part of one body, and it was, of course, completely black.

It took all day.

Tents were set up for the Fire Department crews; they even ordered out for several pizzas. So, various LAFD and LAPD personnel managed to scarf down much-needed grub while going about the grisly business of extracting bodies.

Now, here's something interesting. Last I heard, the death count was still at two. But I counted three gurneys bearing remains under bright yellow-green tarp being rolled to the ambulances. If the death count is still at two, it doesn't take much imagination to figure out the need for three gurneys.

Earlier in the morning, a reporter with the Times asked if I could get her access to the vacated apartment above me, but I couldn't. We talked shop for a while, and I went back inside.

I even ordered for a pizza late last night. The driver was stopped at the checkpoint on Clinton and Genesee streets, and he called me from his cell phone. A television crew was bathing the destroyed apartment building in floodlights for about two minutes as I approached the check point (each news crew was given a shot at this in rotation).

Never a fan of LAPD, I must say I have been impressed with the complete professionalism they and other city, state, and federal departments have demonstrated in this tragedy.

I exchanged some pleasantries with a couple of LAPD officers posted on guard duty.

It will take some time for the area to recover and get back to normal.

Attila is eating again, and with enthusiasm. The noises aren't freaking him out as much.

And I will post about something I noticed regarding KABC's "news" crew, and the manipulative "work" that resulted.

And, Julie, I believe you have a little launch to attend to today. Wishing all the best.

 

[Jack Briggs]

Well, my bad. Turns out the death count has been raised to four:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/06/0...ire/index.html

And, Julie, I just saw that bad weather postponed the MER-1 launch.

 

[Philip_G]

Huh, I'm more than a bit surprised that the NTSB hasn't booted out all other agencies. They're kind of out there on their own and don't have to answer to anyone like the others. Generally I'd suspect them to take over the investigation, being the best at it and all.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Huh, I'm more than a bit surprised that the NTSB hasn't booted out all other agencies.

NTSB would be the lead agency investigating the cause of the actual crash, but they certainly aren't the "experts" when it comes to firefighting, search and rescue, search and recovery, crowd control, and analysing the structural integrity of what's left of the building. Nor are they much use when it comes to feeding, clothing and housing the displaced. How on Earth could they "[boot] out" everybody else in a situation like this? (And NTSB most certainly is answerable and accountable to others - like the Secretary of Transportation, to name just one. Just like every other agency involved in the tragedy.)

It isn't as if this unfortunate plane came down in the middle of an empty field. The other agencies have their own jobs to do, and they can't sit on their hands while buildings burn and people die so that NTSB can do their thing.

Also in this day and age both the local PD and the FBI are going to be looking very hard at any possibility that this is an "other than accidental" crash. However strong the indications that this is a simple accident are, they have to investigate as though it isn't if only as a CYA measure. Nobody wants to declare this thing an accident then have some unrelated investigation turn up poof that it wasn't in six months or a year.

Regards,

Joe

 

[Steve Christou]

Jeez Jack too close for comfort, really glad to see that you and Attila are ok.
I saw it on Sky News over here, I think one guy jumped off the roof, makes me wonder what I would do, jump or wait for the flames?

 

[Philip_G]

NTSB most certainly is answerable and accountable to others - like the Secretary of Transportation

Yes, so is the FAA. But the NTSB reports directly to the sec, unlike the others.
And I disagree, the NTSB go team has experts in many fields on it.

 

[Ted Lee]

jack - you were *literally* the first thing i thought of when i heard this story. as soon as they said fairfax i was like, uh-oh.

so glad you and attila are safe!