Marine Corps Apologizes for Pre-Christmas Crash
A top Marine general recently apologized to residents of a San Diego community where one of its fighter jets crashed last year, killing four members of a Korean immigrant family.
"The Marine Corps regrets this sad and unfortunate accident," Maj. Gen. Michael Lehnert wrote in a one-page letter that was hand-delivered by troops to 300 homes in Universal City, Calif., last Wednesday.
"I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the University City community and especially to those families who lost loved ones and who have suffered greatly as a result of the tragic F/A-18 crash that occurred on December 8," he added.
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One day earlier, military investigators had revealed that a string of bad decisions led the F/A-18D Hornet to slam into a densely populated residential neighborhood on Dec. 8, 2008, killing Young Mi Yoon, 36; her daughters Grace, 15 months, and Rachel, 2 months; and her mother Suk Im Kim, 60, who was visiting the family to help care for the children.
Col. John Rupp, who presented the report, said the crash resulted from "a complex emergency that was compounded by a series of well-intentioned and incorrect decisions" by the pilot and the other officers that "ultimately led to the fuel starvation of the aircraft's sole remaining engine."
The missteps were compounded by a decision by maintenance staff to continue flying the plane for five months even though it had a faulty fuel transfer system.
Though investigators found no evidence of criminal wrongdoing, the military disciplined 13 members of the Marines and Navy. Four officers in Miramar-based Marine Fighter Attack Training Squadron 101, including the commanding officer, were relieved of duty for failing to follow safety procedures and allowing the Hornet to fly over the residential area. Nine other Marine and Navy personnel received lesser reprimands.
The tragedy last year had tugged on the heartstrings of people across the nation and the world, particularly after Dong Yun Yoon, who lost his entire family in the crash, told reporters that he didn't have any "hard feelings" toward the pilot and that he knew that the pilot "did everything he could."
"I pray for him not to suffer for this action," Yoon said at a press conference the next day, calling the pilot "one of our treasures for the country."
"I believe my wife and two babies and mother-in-law are in heaven with God," he added, though clearly in pain and needing assistance from his pastor to walk.
According to the Rev. Kevin Lee, associate pastor of the Korean United Methodist Church that the Yoons attended, Yoon remains in mourning and has no plans to speak to the media.
During the emotional news conference on Dec. 9, Yoon had pleaded for advice on how to cope after losing his family from those who suffered "more terrible things."
"Please tell me how to do it," he said, surrounded by his pastor, sister and brother. "I don't know what to do."
Yoon emigrated from South Korea in 1989, later learning English and becoming a U.S. citizen. He was at work when the accident took place less than three weeks before Christmas.
