Pilot Guy wrote on Sep 28, 2008 7:35 PM:Here we go... THE AIRPORT IS TOO DANGEROUS TO HAVE HOMES AROUND....SHUT IT DOWN!!

Larry wrote on Sep 28, 2008 8:45 PM:Time for the City of Carlsbad to plow under the airport and build another over-priced under-utilized golf course.

Umm.. wrote on Sep 28, 2008 8:53 PM:Train crossings are dangerous! The freeway is bad for your health, and it's noisy! Busses fall off bridges, shut them down too. Infact.. everyone just stay home.

think of the family wrote on Sep 28, 2008 10:21 PM:A man died today, please show some respect for him and his grieving family. Keep your petty, purile comments to yourselves.

Dude wrote on Sep 29, 2008 8:08 AM:Prayers to the pilot and his family.

I don't know much about airports, flying and related, that being said... 2 crashes in a week, something needs to be changed. I hope the proper people are looking seriously into this issue.

Bad Habit wrote on Sep 29, 2008 8:36 AM:Move the houses - the airport has been there for years.

Same Old Song wrote on Sep 29, 2008 8:58 AM:Probably should close Lindbergh field too...

Accidents happen. If you move to a flood plain, there is going to be water. If you move next to an airport, there are going to be airplanes. The residents and business knew about the airport before they moved in.

Pilot Guy wrote on Sep 29, 2008 10:09 AM:For those who think us pilots are too flippant about this fatal crash, you have to understand a few things about us pilots.....including this guy who died.

As pilots, we are willing to risk out lives to get up in the air. Driving a car may be a risk, but every single pilot puts his/her life on the line when they get off teh ground and rely on a single engine to keep them up in the air.

We pilots understand that fatal accidents happen. This guy crashed after failing to execute a missed approach in "cloudy" conditions. Whether it was pilot air or a problem with the plane, SH_T HAPPENS. We accept that.

I don't know how many people died in car crashes or violent crimes or some other fatal happening, but as always, the plane crash gets front and center coverage.

In closing, I'd rather die in a plane crash (hopefully not pilot error) than in a car crash, shooting, or cancer!

Lets show some responsiblity wrote on Sep 29, 2008 11:11 AM:I agree if you live next to an airport you should expect some airplane noise. What you don't expect is planes crashing in your neighborhood.

Just as we have safety rules for our roadways and we have people drive in lanes and on the correct side of the road for safety reasons, I would expect the airport to adopt flight lanes for approaches and takes offs around the airport to reduce the risk to homeowners.

Yes, accidents happen, but let's reduce the risk as much as possible.

We Show Responsibility wrote on Sep 29, 2008 12:37 PM:You don’t expect cars to come through the living room wall, but they do…

To be a pilot requires a minimum of 20 hours of instruction and 40 hours of actual flight time. To fly by instruments (in the clouds) requires an additional 20/40 hours for the rating. There are extensive written exams and flight exams for both the license and the rating before they are given. There are hundreds and hundreds of written lines of FAA regulations defining rules, procedures, airspace, equipment, etc. At a minimum, a detailed annual inspection of every aircraft is required to be performed by a licensed inspector.

An instrument approach into any airport is identified on a map, to be flown within the highest degree of accuracy and designed for the safety of the pilot and those on the ground. Something went terribly wrong. We will all have to wait for the FAA investigation to see why this tragedy happened.

Responsibility wrote on Sep 29, 2008 12:52 PM:First of all, no one on the ground was injured. The plane crashed into a hill, not your house.

Second, I seriously doubt the pilot was being irresponsible and intended to crash. It appears to be an accident.

Finally, airports do have normal departure and arrival paths. If you happen to live on the surface of the earth and own a house near an airport, you may very well be under the normal flight path. You don't just taxi up to the runway and go off some random direction, plus this guy was arriving on an instrument approach so he had a very specific flight path he was following.

Sure you don't expect planes to crash into your neighborhood but you also don't expect cars to crash into your living room, neighborhood diner, or bank and that happens all too frequently. So what do we do, stop building houses near streets? Be reasonable.

It's really unfortunate he crashed but even with the 3-4 crashes the past couple years (with no fatalities on the ground) it's still far safer than any other mode of transportation. Heck, even trains crash and they only have 1 axis to control instead of 3 (25 or so were killed in that one, BTW). Yet still people are fascinated and quick to judge when any aircraft crashes. We even hear about crashes thousands of miles away. When was the last time you heard of a drunk driver crashing and killing someone in South Carolina???

esteban wrote on Sep 29, 2008 1:36 PM:I say plow down all the houses and then it'll be safer.

767 wrote on Sep 29, 2008 9:32 PM:I've got over 12,000 flight hours logged. So far... 3300 in light aircraft, and 9000+ in airliners. I'll tell you that in reality, light airplane pilots just don't have the level of training and procedural skill that airline pilots have. Airline pilots train every few months in full motion simulators that cost up to $120,000,000. We train with professional instructors that teach nothing but the specific type aircraft we fly. We also always fly with two pilots in the cockpit. One is solely responsible for handling the aircraft, and the other does all other duties. Flying any airplane in poor weather conditions is plenty to keep two pilots busy. In my view; single pilot instrument flying is generally not safe. The exception being professional pilots flying solo, several flight a day, with frequent recurrent training. Even then, their accident rate is higher than two-pilot crews.

north county 4 life wrote on Sep 30, 2008 3:15 AM:yup i agree the airport has been here alot longer then the houses. so suck it! ur own fault if u want to whine and cry about the airport you didnt have to move there if you knew about the risk. wow and look legoland is under the flight path and do they make a fuss nooo

Tina wrote on Sep 30, 2008 7:29 AM:UMMMM again all of you who seem to have some sort of PHD LAY OFF MY BROTHER IN LAW WHO IS NOW GONE! HE WAS AN EXCELLENT PILOT WHO WAS SO CAUTIOUS AND ANAL ABOUT HIS INSTUMENTS ON THAT PLANE! SOMETHING OBVIOUSLY WENT WRONG. HE DID NOT WAKE UP AND SAY "BYE HONEY I THINK I WILL GO CRASH THE PLANE TODAY" SO KEEP YOUR FREAKIN THOUGHTLESS,PETY, PHD ANALYZING COMMENTS TO YOURSELF. HE IS GONE HE IS DEAD AND HE IS NOT COMING BACK SO HAVE SOME DAMN "FEELINGS" I KNOW NOT MANY HAVE THEM ANYMORE-LET ME TELL YOU HOW ... FEELS RIGHT NOW LOSING HER HUSBAND IN A FREAK ACCIDENT THAT HAS RIPPED THROUGH OUR FAMILY. YOU HEARTLESS BAS%&*$#!

another private pilot wrote on Sep 30, 2008 8:18 AM:Sorry for you loss Tina.

I don't think it's petty for other pilots to discuss and learn from what happened. It may help prevent another incident like this.

This is obviously just a theory, but, pilots, when tower issues alternate missed approach instructions (different than the published missed), listen carefully, particulary at CRQ. There are hills south east of the runway there. Don't go missed before you're supposed to or it can end badly for you. Sometimes tower will tell you to start your turn before crossing into the runway environment, so as to avoid interfering with traffic taking the active. That doesn't mean start it before it's safe. Study the approach and surrounding terrain carefully before you start.

still another pilot wrote on Sep 30, 2008 6:57 PM:Pilot Guy, I don't know how you feel when you fly, but I never consider it a risk to my life.

Unless you're a fighter pilot, saying we "risk our lives" each time is misleading, unless you count the drive to the airport, much more dangerous than flying, even with a single engine.

I'm much more comfortable in the air than on the road, and even with this tragedy, the statistics agree.

As for people who want to close the airport, what idiot buys a house next to an airport?