Pilot in Jet Crash May Get Commendation

The pilot who bailed out of a jet moments before it crashed in Sorrento Valley Monday morning may receive a commendation for heroism, a Navy spokesman said.

Cmdr. David Strong, 36, could win anything from “a letter of commendation to a medal” for putting himself at personal risk by waiting to eject from his F-8 Crusader until he was sure it would not crash in a populated area, said Lt. John Semcken.

The commendation was proposed Tuesday by Cmdr. Carey Carson, commanding officer of Strong’s squadron, VFP-206.

The cleanup of the crash site off Sorrento Valley Road was finished Tuesday, and only the gutted ruins of cars remain, Semcken said.

The crash caused structural damage to two buildings and destroyed the plane and 18 cars.

Insurance officials were reviewing the accident to determine how much to charge the Navy in damages. The Navy has agreed to pay for all damages.

No cost estimates of the damage were available Wednesday, Semcken said.

Semcken confirmed that in August, 1974, Strong had been involved in a minor flying accident that resulted from an aircraft malfunction.

While flying at a Navy training base in Fallon, Nev., his aircraft developed “a mechanical failure in the landing gear (that) didn’t allow the wheel to properly retract,” Semcken said. “He made an emergency . . . landing and the wheel physically broke off. It was fixed and he flew it again five days later.”

Strong has been involved in three crashes in 14 years of flying, but none of the accidents were his fault, Semcken said.

However, Semcken acknowledged that he knew no details of one of those accidents, which purportedly involved Strong in a civilian aircraft. A spokeswoman for the Federal Aviation Administration office in Los Angeles said that she also knew nothing of the incident. Officials at the National Transportation Safety Board couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

The cause of Monday’s the accident was still being investigated Wednesday. “It’s pretty clear-cut that it looks like a mechanical failure to us,” Semcken said.

The age of the F-8--29 years --couldn’t have had anything to do with the accident because the craft’s engines are regularly checked and occasionally rebuilt, Semcken said.

“All the other airplanes in the squadron were checked for any other suspicious things that could have caused it,” Semcken said, adding that none had any detectable problems and “They’re all flying now.”