As a youngster I witnessed a plane crash through my bedroom window. I’d like to know if there is a way to find out more about this crash. The place: Carlsbad, CA. The date: not remembered, but I think it was about 1980.
Anyone out there got a source?
There was a major crash in San Diego in 1978. Could that be it?
Try looking here:
I know all about that one, but I’m talking about a small plane. That one was a mid-air that crashed in North Park. Got connections to it, too, but no problem getting info on it.
The pilot was apparently trying to land on the high school football field (or crash there to miss the dense housing areas). I watched it from my home across the street from the high school. I ran to the site (which, incidentally, ruined one of the most beautiful lawns in town) and observed the wreckage.
There have been other crashes in my hometown, and thinking of them got me to wondering about the one I saw from my room.
Well, I had a long post ready, but on preview I see that you’ve narrowed down what you are looking for.
The NTSB search page won’t let me link directly to my search results, so how about this instead:
Go here first.
Enter a date range (be generous: Jan 1979 to Dec 1981).
Enter “Carlsbad” in the city and CA in the state. Leave everything else blank and hit “Submit query.”
If you can’t find the accident, then the NTSB has no record of it. (Unlikely).
Thanks, pilot141. I knew I could count on you.
I think I have it. A Sunday night (ironically, almost exactly three years after the first one spoken of here). That’s a great summary… Is there a way to get more detail?
My hometown seems to have a lot of aircraft incidents.
Yeah, I was going to point that out but I thought it might be rude. CA has many pilots, and a lot of those are “casual” pilots. There is nothing wrong with that of course, but more “casual” pilots end up in the weeds than more “careful” pilots.
As far as finding more info, it’s probably going to be tough. The NTSB report is official, as are all the records. I don’t know which record you pulled up, but what the NTSB has is the final word.
Most local papers/TV stations will never follow up on a small airplane crash. So if you are looking for the cause of an accident, use the NTSB report. If you are looking for personal information, then the local news would be best (ie the local news records, including past issues of the local newspaper).
Good luck with the search!
I bought off ebay every single NTSB aviation accident report issued in the last three decades. Seller had scanned each one into pdf format, burned to cds and sold the lot for $10. Let me know the date of the accident and I’ll see if there is a full NTSB report and give you the report number. Googling the report number may give you the info you seek.
It’s this one. There probably is a small news accout from the local paper, and maybe the San Diego Union Tribune.