USN Commander just confirmed on Andrea that the pilots had SAFELY ejected. My emphasis, not his. nt

Casualties expected on the ground.

Goodness knows that having spent most of my life on a flight path for NAS Oceana near the Atlantic Ocean in Virginia Beach, I have no love for Navy jets! That said, if any one is to blame for this it is the Virginia Beach City Council which has permitted high density building right up to the edge of the air station despite the Navy's begging them not to do so over as long as I can remember.

Virginia Beach is bought and sold to the developers at the expense of the well being and safety of its citizens.

Ships are at sea. If they go down, they sink and rarely is there any likelihood of casualties except for those on board.

Planes fly over land and sea. If over sea, the likelihood of casualties other than those on the plane are insignificant. This is not so if flying over land, especially if that land is a highly populated resort area.

I know the area that the jet went down very well. Unless the pilot could have made it in the air for a few more seconds at jet speed where he would have been over the ocean, there is nothing BUT highly populated area for him to "aim" the plane--which I suspect he had no control, over.

Further, the jets automatically eject the pilots in case they are unconscious--again, unlike a ship.

Let's pray that there are no casualties and that the City Council of Virginia Beach and not the Navy or its pilots are held accountable as they should be! And this comes from someone who shakes her fist and screams at the jets as they fly over, hating the ear-splitting noise of their engines.

was that a Phoenix University degree?

not a for-profit university. However, I come from a military family and I spent most of my life living on one of the flight paths for NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach. I also dated several naval pilots, although I didn't marry one, and have been a friend and neighbor of many naval pilots. So, while I may not have whatever "credentials" that you feel I should have to post to this thread (which, by the way, most university degrees would not provide such credentials, anyway), I do feel qualified to post what I have posted. Further, your snarky comment was really not necessary; but if it made you feel somehow superior, then have at it!

No, I don't feel superior. I was just making a joke and you have to spout off with your superior knowledge and advanced degree.

Observation and a bit of living would be enough to ascertain that a ship sinking and a plane crashing are not analogous: No advanced degrees necessary!

n/t

-- Mal

But we'll wait for the Board.

-- Mal

Of course they should, planes are expendable, pilots aren't. The pilots did what they thought they could, tried to make the beach, thought they had the plane pointed in the right way, and bailed out.

If pilots weren't supposed to eject, they wouldn't have them strap on parachutes, rigged the canopy with explosive bolts, and put in that little lever labeled "EJECT".

and self delete this post. Why on earth would a pilot not eject?

So far the reporting is the plane wouldn't respond to the controls.

So what, exactly, is the benefit of having the pilot yanking on a non-responsive stick until he dies?

Or is the pilot not a person?

I can see not ejecting if you still can control the plane, but if you can't -- can you eject then?

As I stated above, having lived most of my life on the flight path for NAS Oceana, I HATE those jets and the noise that they make. However, I also know the area and there was no way to avoid hitting something given that the city council has sold its soul to the developers and has permitted high density building right up to the edge of the air station despite the Navy's begging them not to do so.

Further, I believe that the jet's eject the pilots automatically in case the pilots are unconscious. But even if they don't, I know from previous crashes in the city by Navy jets that the pilots do all they can to avoid hitting occupied spaces. This is simply a tragedy.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/va_beach/military-plane-crashes-in-virginia-beach

That's a straight-up idiotic thing to say.

Why are people upset that there weren't MORE casualties (the pilots are people too, you know) rather than FEWER?

Who are you talking about?

There were people griping because they didn't go down with the plane. Sorry I didn't make that more clear.

Oh, and look a few posts up. There is someone saying they shouldn't eject. I guess some people don't realize that pilots are human beings.

Where the hero stays with the dying plane, and somehow manages, despite hydraulic lines and electric wires being burned to a crisp, somehow steer the plane a couple of inches over the top of the apartment building and drops it into the ocean with his death being the only loss.

Most people don't realize that a pilot is supposed to, yes, do as much as they can, then point the plane in the right direction and get the hell out. The plane is expendable, the pilot, not so much.

And they are rigorously trained to eject at a certain point, so I certainly can't fault them for it. I believe there are some planes equipped to auto-eject pilots under certain conditions, too.

I was shocked when I saw in another thread people acting like they should have just let themselves be killed.

given that the city council has permitted high density building right up to the edge of the air station!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stall_(flight)

There's nothing for the control surfaces to push against when this happens; the plane is either mostly or entirely out of control. If this occurs at a low altitude, this is doubly true, since there is no chance for the plane to reorient and recover.

training correctly).

I don't know if it stalled, though. Regardless of the findings, at this point no casualties (amazing!) and the injuries aren't life threatening. Again, amazing!