I’d like to pat you somewhere. 
Dude, I know you love your children, probably more than your wife. His response to this disaster is commendable to say the least.
It’s clear that the pilot waited as long as he could before ejecting. You can see in this graphic and this map that he came down only a couple of streets away from the plane.
It looks like he veered to the north off his approach path to try to get to open canyon. My WAG is that another half a second of lift and the plane would have cleared those last few houses.
Very well then: say rather that after you have stood where this man stands, acted as he has acted, and spoken as he has spoken, it will then be time enough to argue about the height of the bar of virtue.
Meanwhile, I would feel terrible if I’d been flying this plane, no matter what anyone told me or my reason told myself, and the generous forgiveness of the bereaved party would be a blessing of worth beyond rubies. But I’m just a sentimental old bugger.
You . . . don’t see the difference between a situation where your family is killed and an ordinary situation?
I’m saying grief often makes people act irrationally. As everyone in this thread but you seems to understand.
Of course I see his remarks as courageous and even heroic - I’ve got a lump in my throat just reading about it.
I cannot imagine what I would do in such a circumstance - but I can be sure I would not be giving a second thought to the suffering of the pilot, at least not the very next day.
What a gentle and touching sentiment from someone grieving so deeply.
What we’re saying is that, if our entire family, spanning three generations, had just been annihilated in an instant, our first reaction would probably not be, “Hey, I hope the pilot is okay!” That this man, in the depths of this tragedy, still has the compassion to worry about the guy who survived the crash speaks to a remarkable depth of spirit.
Between what is rational and what is not? No I don’t.
Sure it does. That doesn’t mean it’s “heroic” NOT to act irrationally.
Where does the story say that was his FIRST reaction? Itwould be rather bizarre and creepy if it was FIRST reaction.
Another couple of people who are better than most of us - my second-cousin, John Bergen, and his wife Eloise. They are missionaries to Kenya who were brutally attacked there by their own guards.
I know this family - they are just like that. They might be completely out to lunch in their Christian beliefs, but they’re willing to live their lives by their beliefs even when it gets tough, and I completely respect them for that.
ETA: I just wanted to clarify I know the family, not these two particular individuals. They are typical of the family, is what I’m trying to say.
Well what do think it fucking was? Burn the fucking world to a crisp? The point is he had the FUCKING balls to put his own hate and fears ASIDE and think about others, namely the his extended family and the pilot who in the end, caused this horrific tragedy. You know, Dio, I’m starting to wonder about you. And I’m sure you could give a shit less (about how I feel about you), and don’t think I’m judging you, but dude, there was a day when I thought you gave a shit about people. Don’t let the hardness of the world infect you. Man, your humanity is all you have. I’ve known drug dealers, enforcers, convicts of every variety, and man, some days, you’re one of the hardest mother fuckers I’ve ever seen.
I think maybe I’m being misunderstood here. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with being concerned about the pilot. I’m just saying I don’t think it’s all that extraordinary. I think most people would be. I’d probably say something similar (minus the praying part) aftr I recovered from the catatonia I would suffer from losing my wife and kids.
On the bright side, the crash also took out his mother-in-law. 
It’s an incredibly sad situation. My wife knows the family slightly, as they attend the same church.
From looking at that Google map up yonder it looks like the plane came down about 3 miles south west of where I’m sitting right now. That’s kinda scary, as he was heading in this direction at the time. It’s weird that I didn’t hear anything when it happened; you’d think that would be pretty loud.
Too soon! 
I don’t know where I come down in this argument, but Yoon’s heart is in the right place. Even if it’s not “beautiful,” it’s big of him to think of the pilot at this point. What a terrible situation for everybody.
Well, then maybe that’s the problem. You are a better man than most of the rest of us here in this thread, because it seems that’s not probably what the bunch of us would inititially think or say.
I mean, if you just want to use the sample size you’ve got and all.
Nice post, featherlou. Reminds me of Amy Biehl’s parents, who befriended the young men who killed her in a township in South Africa. She was there working for social justice and was driving a black friend home when her car was stopped, and she was dragged out and stabbed and bludgeoned to death, for being white in that neighborhood.
Her parents forgave the young men, went to great lengths to go and meet them, and I think petitioned to have them released from prison.
Yowza.
ETA- Here’s the story.
Don’t mind Dio. Yoon is leaning hard on his Christian faith to get him through this tragedy, Dio reflexively attacks, dismisses and belittles anyone who demonstrates any faith at all. What you’re seeing is just Dio being Dio.
What does Christian faith have to do with anything? I didn’t even know the dude was a Christian.
Cite?
But North Island NAS is. He could have headed there instead of Miramar.
He may have passed it too quickly and couldn’t/didn’t want to try and make the turn? If only one engine was out at that time, trying for Miramar might have made sense.
Would they? Maybe, but a great many don’t act rationally. It seems a pretty human reaction to want to blame someone. It is commendable that Yoon acting rationally.
Still, I don’t think he’s anywhere close to being a hero and the OP is a bit over the top.