Impact on Area of Marine Flights

Last year, the U.S. Marine Corps sky jockeys dropped a large practice bomb in the parking lot of the South Laguna Branch of the Bank of America, crashed a jet off Catalina Island and--well, national security precludes acknowledging other accidents.

As Marine Corps flights increase with the extension of their present runways (in El Toro) to accommodate more and even larger jets, what is the brief checklist of procedures followed by pilots abandoning their jets in a residential area?

I’ve checked my homeowner’s policy and wonder if I’ll be covered. I hope the Marines plan to hold environmental impact hearings prior to expanding their runways, or are they exempt from this law, too?

R. MICHAEL BEANAN

South Laguna