- 09
- April
2010
It remains California's worst aviation disaster and, at the time, was the deadliest commercial plane crash in American history. Still, for more than 30 years, no one has told the full story of Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182.
It was September 25, 1978 - a hot day in San Diego. The PSA flight had left Sacramento earlier that morning, stopped briefly in Los Angeles, and was preparing for a landing at San Diego's Lindbergh Field. At the same time, up ahead, a small Cessna practiced maneuvers directly in the larger plane's path.
From the cockpit transcript, it's clear that the pilots of PSA Flight 182 believed they had passed the Cessna when, in actuality, they were quickly overtaking it from behind.
Just before 9:02 a.m., PSA Flight 182 struck the Cessna. The plane crash completely broke apart the smaller plane and severely damaged the commercial jet's right wing, crippling the 727. Leaking fuel burst into flame after a fuel tank in the wing ruptured and the plane rolled to the right, plummeting nose-first into a residential San Diego neighborhood.
All 135 passengers and crew members on the flight perished in the plane crash. On the ground, more than 20 houses were destroyed and seven residents killed.
In his documentary, "Return to Dwight & Nile: The Crash of PSA 182," David Fresina covers the tragedy and its aftermath, composing his film almost completely of interviews with witnesses, survivors and remaining family members.
Fresina, who lives in Massachusetts, is an amateur filmaker who has maintained a passion for the story of PSA Flight 182 since watching news coverage of the plane crash as an 11-year-old on the east coast.His film premiered on Wednesday to a sold-out theater.
Related Resources
- Documentary about PSA Crash to have Premiere (SignOnSanDiego.com)
Comments: 1
1 Comment
Carol Carpenter
December 22, 2010 at 12:59 AM
I was lying asleep that morning when I heard what sounded like a sonic boom. I was working as a Caltrans backup dispatcher at the time but was home recovering from a sprained ankle. The dispatcher called me and said a plane had crashed into the freeway and I needed to get down to the office and help him. I hobbled around getting dressed and he called back and said it had not crashed into the freeway but just west in North Park just a couple of miles south of where I lived so they were able to shut down the ramps quickly but we went outside and saw the smoke billowing and learned later everyone had died including 9 people on the ground. It happened so fast and it was so sad and didn't have to happen.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. One of our employees at Caltrans was a Reserve Sheriff's Deputy and he had to go over there to prevent looting of the bodies. Can you believe that people would disrespect these poor people just for souvenirs. He told me later it was awful. Body parts everywhere.
I rented a house down in that area on Nile St. a couple of years later and a couple of blocks south of there and that actual neighbood that the crash occurred in was actually a small area considering the size of the plane. House have been rebuilt there but you can tell because they have a "newer" look than the old ones. I wanted to write this because even though it was so long ago, it was the closest I came to being involved a history making disaster and needed to rehash how I experienced it and how I felt about it. I was in shock and saddened but how this could have happened.
I'm glad some good came of it because it changed some safety rules in the airplane safety rules.
Thank you for your interest.
Leave a comment