Search resumes for missing child after jet crash

INVESTIGATORS yesterday resumed the search for a child missing in the wreckage of a residential area where a military fighter jet crashed, killing three people.

The F/A-18D Hornet crashed into a street on Monday, about 4km from marine corps air station Miramar as the pilot was returning from a training flight.

Three people — a mother, her baby and a grandmother — were killed in one house and officials said a fourth person, believed to be a small child, was in the house and had not been found. The search for the child had been suspended during the night.

The pilot ejected before the crash and ended up suspended by his parachute in a tree. He was being treated at a hospital.

One other home was destroyed and three were damaged in the neighbourhood of half-million-dollar houses.

The San Diego county medical examiner said it had tentatively identified each of the victims and was in contact with family members for confirmation. No names were released.

“It happened in a split second — boom, boom, boom,” said Alain Blanc, 64, who lives next to the destroyed homes. “The whole house started shaking and rocking.”

Blanc heard what he thought were exploding propane tanks. Two neighbours said a pickup truck caught fire after running over flaming debris and the driver yelled his gas tank was full as he fled the vehicle.

Terri Scheidt who was wrapping Christmas presents, heard an “unbelievably loud” sound, followed by explosions. She ran around the corner and saw two homes engulfed in flames.

Military aircraft frequently streak over the neighbourhood, 4km from the base, but residents said the imperilled aircraft was flying extremely low.

No initial finding on the cause of the crash was given.

The pilot was in stable condition at a Navy hospital, first lieutenant Katheryn Putnam, a Miramar spokeswoman said.

He had been returning from training on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln off the coast, she said.