Frightening aircraft incidents

Around the time of the Reno Air Races, we've occasionally seen some of the airplanes practicing their stunts right here over Fish Springs. We might get a free show, like the airplanes going upside-down and circling around. Luckily, there's never been a crash out here, but once there was a jet crash very near our home in San Diego.

One late dark night back in the '70s, a military jet crashed in the hills east of San Diego. A Navy jet was practicing "touch and go" on an aircraft carrier and the jet had a damaged landing gear while it was attempting to make a landing on the carrier. The decision was made that the two pilots were to exhaust all their fuel supply before finding a place to bail out " and then bail out. They looked for a dark spot on the ground, which meant there were no houses there on the hill, so they ejected from the jet and it crashed near the end of the hillside. There was live ammunition on the jet and there was a fire where the plane hit the ground. The two pilots parachuted down and landed safely in a housing area just one block from our house.

I witnessed this frightening occurrence in the sky just as I arrived home that night. The ground shook as there was a very loud explosion. I ran inside and attempted to call 911, but the phone wasn't working at all. It was very, very scary. Thank God no one was injured.

This reminds me of the time a glider plane had to land right out in the hay field next to our yard in Fish Springs in 1982. The glider pilot lost his thermals so he just put it down, even though the landing was bumpy.

The pilot, whether he's flying a jumbo jet or a glider, may have a situation where he has to land ASAP. That's when he'll look for a large open field or rural street or a dirt road that will allow them enough distance to stop safely without running into something.

My husband and I had a frightening experience in July 1994 when we went to England for two weeks. While staying at the Fire Service College in Morton-in-Marsh we walked from a little town back to the college one dark night. Suddenly we heard a very loud noise that came right over our heads. The vibration shook us nearly to the ground and we couldn't see anything. Turns out, there were four U.K. military aircraft flying totally with their lights turned off. I thought maybe they would crash land around us. What a scare that was!

n Linda Monohan may be reached at 782-5802.