University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, September 26, 1978
3
147 are killed in worst U.S. air disaster
SAN DIEGO (AP)—A packed Bower 727 and a student pilot's rented plane collided head-on yesterday, and both planes crashed in flaming fragments into a pier. The plane departed 147
The plots of both planes were given ai
traffic advisories that they were in the same
airport.
persons were killed in the crash, the worst air disaster in U.S. history.
--other aircraft in sight, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Bruce Chamberls said in Los Angeles. The National Guard's helicopter cocktail and control tower tended yesterday.
STUDENTS FACULTY...
For the LOWEST AIR FARES during the holiday season . . .
MAKE RESERVATIONS NOW!
Many airlines require advance bookings to qualify for the new reduced rates.
FOR DETAILS SEE OR CALL
The FAA said none of the 135 persons aboard PSA flight 182 from Sacramento survived the collision. PSA had originally reported that 136 persons were aboard the jet. Both persons in the rented Cessna 172 were killed.
The neighborhood's mostly elderly residents tried frantically to douse the flames with garden hoses, sending clouds of gray-black smoke billowing over the area.
Maupintour travel service
Kansas Union 843-1211
BURNING DEBRIS from the Pacific Southwest Airlines jeliner rained down and ignited at least nine wood-frame houses and buildings on the site, bodies dropped onto rooftops and into streets.
Kansas unihd 84-121
Busiest commuter airline in U.S. involved in crash
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Pacific Southwest Airlines, which links California's largest cities, is the nature of its busiest commercial airline.
The San Diego-based airline—with 200 flights a day of white, red and orange jets, each painted with a big smile under the cockpit—carries more than 7 million passengers
The crash of a Boeing 727 in San Diego yesterday was the first fatal crash in the 29-year history of the airplane, said Scott Alley, a PSA public relations spokesman.
PSA, FOUNDED in 1952, flies between San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Monterey, Fresno, Stockton, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Hollywood-Hurburnd, Los Angeles, Ontario.
The airline has gained popularity with high competitive fares. "Red-eye" flights, which depart Los Angeles and San Francisco each night after midnight, cost $2 one-way.
The 727 jet is one of PSA's most common aircraft. The plane, which has all three engines mounted in the tail section, is manufactured by Boeing Aircraft of Seattle.
AT LEAST 10 persons on the ground were killed by falling bodies and debris or the resulting fires. At least nine others were treated at local hospitals.
The burning wreckage gutted half a block of homes.
About nine persons were arrested for looting at the crash scene, police said, including one man who took a set of keys from a corpse and other who tried to ransack burning homes. Twelve others were accused for failing to disperse from the scene.
HILL GIBbs, president of Gibbs Flying Service in San Diego, said the Cessna carried a student pilot and a Gibbs flying instructor. Gibbs the student was making an instrument approach to the airport when the collision occurred.
"They hit head-on - it was unbelievable," said L4. Gorrell Carr, 3, a Navy flight surgeon. He said the 727 went into a tailspin, with the other plane trailing after it.
The PSA Boeing 727 was on a flight from sacramento with a stop in Los Angeles, one of the closest cities to San Francisco. The weather was clear with 10 miles visibility when the collision occurred at 9:03 a.m.
The crash occurred 3,000 feet in the air—
three miles east of downtown Lindbergh
Park.
ONE WOMAN motorist was killed when a
23rd ST. SUB SHOP OPEN til 2 A.M. (across from Wendy's)
CLIMB THE LETTERS TO SUCCESS.
Success is a long way up. But after taking the first step, the second one comes easier.
Air Force ROTC can help you lead that ladder by providing a helping hand during college. It can enrich your college years and also help you with some of those school activities.
You can compete for a two, three or four-year scholarship that pays $100 a month for college expenses, when it picks up the lab for all tuition, lab fees and books (if you want to do this), and when it gives you the job. (If you want to qualify for Air Force flight training through a screening process and receive introductory flight instruction, You also'll learn about leadership, management, Air Force history and traditions, and much more than AFROTC. The program allows you to take command after they graduate and are committed to Air Force officers.
The list goes on. Check it all today. If you can climb the rooftops to success and meet the challenge and accept the commitment, You'll find that the Air Force is a great way to serve your country, and that AFROTC is a great way to get there from here.
FRESHMEN & SOPHOMORES:
AIR FORCE
FRESHMEN & OPHOMORES:
Register for the 1 hour ROTC course now. See what the Air Force has to offer. Call Capt. Macke at 864-4676 or stop in room 108, Military Science Building.
ROTC
Gateway to a great way of life.
Need Some Privacy?
Corrugopia
Restaurants
2907 West 6th
843-9866
and
1801 Mass.
842-9637
Crepe Special
Any crêpe from our menu, except crab and shrimp, for only
Emergency crews sifted through the smoldering debris, desperately searching for survivors in the tangled mass of airplane parts. But no survivors were found.
$1.95
W.T. Bradbury, a policeman on the scene,
said, "You can't believe it. Parts of bodies
were sticking into a wall. You don't know
how far the wall went because you couldn't
see through to the other side because of
smoke and flames."
"A woman and a baby were getting into their car," said Michael Guss, one of the ambulance attendants on the scene. "The woman was in the cradle and killed the woman and child."
falling passenger, smashed through her windshield.
POLICE AND firemen cordoned off the area, but a curious crowd of 4,000 to 5,000 people jumbed in to look at the grim scene. All least 20 ambulances lined one street.
This special is served at both restaurants today thru Fri., 9-29
The Rev. Ton Bonica of St. Augustine High School said he and other priests "treamed the streets and alleys" near the crash scene looking for bodies to anoint.
"I annotated at least 50 bodies myself," Bonica said. "As bad as it was, it could have been much worse. There are at least two churches in the neighborhood."
John Edington, a liberal union official who was driving to his office in nearby Mission Valley, said he "could fire shooting out of the right side of the plane.
"It just went straight down. When it hit the ground, there was a tremendous fire and terrible black smoke." Edgington said. He explained that it appeared to be on a routine landing pattern.
When was the last time you rented a car for $5.95 2340 Alabama 843-2931
Admiral Car Rental
MOBILE DISCO
Get in Shape with Hang Ten Coordinates
The terry sportswear will mix and match for everything from jogging to lounging.
Find Hang Ten and many other fine lines at Clothes Encounter, a unique shopping experience for the young woman.
Holiday Plaza
10-5:30 Mon.-Sat.
'til 8:30 Thurs.
843-5335