She scooped me up and put me in the backseat of the car. I was in 9th grade at Pacoima Junior High School, when the plane crash occurred.. Prior to the plane crash, my row was drawing/painting on easels next to the windows. I remember your father as an extremely nice man. With the help of other Paramedics, Nurses, Physicians, Fire Chiefs, private ambulance companies, and other Orange County Agencies, the plan is in place and several Mass Casualty Drills are put on every year. Some events just seem to get burned into your memory. My Dad was at home less than a block away. I think it may have been city council. Of course we didnt know what all had taken place until after we got home from school as communication in those days was nothing like today. Try again later. My mom came running out of the house, screaming for me to come home. It appears the kid is walking toward the school? Im working on a book about the Pacoima crash, surrounding events and people. Another part of the story is that Russ and our mom had been at the Pacoima Congregational Church, just next door to PJH, earlier that morning. AS WE WERE RELEASED TO GO HOME THE SIGHT WILL NEVER LEAVE MY MY MIND. And yes, please, feel free to include the link. Yknow, at the house we never talked much about the crash. When I left that day, I searched for information on such an event and found the reports of the midair collision that led to this story. Thank you. Upon our arrival, she called the school to tell them that I had been found. I guess the real though posthumous thanks for this post should go to my dad, who kept the tape in such good shape for so many years. He left the school yard in shock and a neighbor lady found him walking home and picked him up. I dont know what made look this up now, but Im glad I did. It was a warm day and our teacher had both doors to the classroom open. Later that afternoon when my father came home, we drove to the seen. Yeah, a few other commenters wrote about either being sprayed with hot oil or seeing other kids covered with the stuff I wonder if they were remembering seeing your uncle. It was cold that day and we had not changed into our gym clothes. On January 31, 1957, a Douglas DC-7B transport plane crashed into the school yard of Pacoima Junior High School, 9919 Laurel Canyon Boulevard, after colliding with a Northrop F-89J Scorpion jet trainer plane. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Rebecca Grant Polish activist Justyna Wydrzyska is the first woman in Europe to be convicted of intent to aid an abortion. I was a few blocks away at Montegue Elementary School (I believe 1st Grade) when I heard the roaring noise of the impending crash. I dont remember what brand of tape he used. TY for the thread and my best to all. [1][2][3] Contents 1Accident When I was writing and researching this story, I thought about how tough that day must have been for mom. By the way, in the audio recording you have, to me it sounds like the school official is saying: It was a jet blast. I remember a thump then the screaming sound of the plane. As I travel back to that place my heart goes out, once again, to all those kids, teachers, parents, flight crews, and first responders whose lives were forever changed that day. I was in the auditorium on the day of the crash, practicing for my graduation. She saw the plane go down, and needless to say, was at the school in only a few minutes. I think for me it was validating. I have often wondered what my dad did during the initial moments and after. That is terrific news. She said the plane crash and the neighborhood were in the movie. Yes, its sobering to think of what might have happened if the DC-7 had veered one way or the other into the auditorium, classrooms or the many nearby residences. My brother graduated from Northridge State Univ and, ironically, went on to have a very successful career as a corporate pilot for over 40 years! I remember there was an electrical problem that caused his amp to repeatedly emit a very loud flatulent-like sound at about a billion decibels, while the lead microphone was sending blue arcs of house current into my nose. Embarrassingly enough, Ive never really thought about its continuation as a free, public-accessible document after Ive shuffled into the Great Beyond, or at least failed to maintain my account here for some other, less dramatic reason. I think my sister and my father knew your cousin. The post Dont Count Barbara Lee Out of the California Senate Race appeared first on The Nation. One of the most interesting and enlightening comments yet. Hope things are going well for you these days. And i am also very shocked how people were not more clever at that time that they tested planes over areas that were populated, i mean its not like the technology was better before and yet they didnt seem to think further and let such things happend. I am rather dismayed to see that you have removed my post. I thought we were being bombed so I immediately dropped to the floor and assumed the duck and cover position, remembers Pam. Ronnie was killed on January 31, 1957, when three students on the playground of Pacoima Junior High School were among the eight persons killed as the result of a midair collision between a four-engine Douglas DC-7B airliner and a United States Air Force Northrop F-89J Scorpion jet fighter in the skies above nearby. Its crazy how she just said we have one life to live right before it happened. He was actually a good natured kid that was singled out for abuse. We were unable to find an existing triage system to use. I cant begin to imagine the terror and sadness he must have been feeling. My only memory of this event was my parents speaking in hushed tones after reading/hearing a news report. My mom moved me to the other end of the valley because of the violence. I myself am from europe and didnt no anything about this incident before my little exam/school related nightmare, and if there was not written anything about it on the internet i would never ever have known anything about what happened in in 1957, i dont even know where carlifonia is on a map, so i think your story is really reaching out to people. . An interesting bit of info regarding the parachuting radioman from the fighter jet: the heat in his cockpit was so intense that sparks ignited a few spots on his parachute. It made me think of the crews that had responded to the real thing in Pacoima. I lived on Daventry street and attended Telfair Avenue School. Ive heard from many that the school staff handled the situation exceptionally well. Thanks for your terrific account of that day moment, really. It was horrible . One of the engines slide into the next set of bleached, where I would have been If I had not stopped. [5], The collision was blamed on pilot error and the failure of both aircraft crews to exercise proper "see and avoid" procedures regarding other aircraft while operating under visual flight rules (VFR). Years later, my husband worked with a gentlemen named Pat, who lost his leg in the event. I was young and that is all I know. Kris, If there is anything I can help you with, let me know. Thanks for this historic artifact. Background [ edit] It was deafening. 1957 Pacoima California Mid-Air Collision The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered 1.15M subscribers Join Subscribe 23K 892K views 4 years ago PACOIMA The History Guy remembers a. Meanwhile, in Palmdale to the north, a pair of two-seater F-89J fighter jets took off at 10:50a.m. on test flights, one that involved a check of their on-board radar equipment. On a lighter note if you are the Garth Rodriguez I think you are, you were the lead singer in one my very first bands. I suppose the single most interesting aspect of this story and the recording is how many people were, as you put it, haunted their entire lives by this tragedy. Suddenly, Mr. Snyder saw me and literally picked me up by the scruff of my neck and the seat of my pants and threw me back into my room and dove in behind me! Yes, eerily so. Thank you so much for your comment. Sometimes people there go from one video to another suggestion, and that will help reach out to many people who were not even searching it up in the first place. Yeah, that is one stunning little piece of Valley history like an audio time capsule. I recall recall seeing a huge I was in the class with Mr. Snyder are you on facebook contact me. Thanks for writing. Russ, By the way, I went to Pacoima a decade later and there was still lots of music going on. I had never seen her like that before and it scared me. At the time I remember thinking it was shredded paper. The fire seemed to be out, but things were still smoking. And when I got out my parents had moved us to Palmdale. Thanks for commenting. But, there was also a lot of humanity and caring for others on that day, as well. I can still see him so clearly after these 58 years. First, when I was in the room with Lloyd Hopkins he told me we were running to get behind the handball wall. Debris was also strewn across the grounds of Terra Bella Elementary School, adjacent to the junior high, and Pacoima Congregational Church, next door to the school. Terrified, I couldnt even budge. Both our families were put through an emotional wringer that day. I was born in 52 and started at Beachy when I was six. It sounds like he was at the same place on the field as I was. Ill be back soon. It was organized under the California Office of Emergency Services. I was in class, a distance from the ball fields, but we saw the flash and thought it was a bomb. Is that true? (BTW, I believe the teacher tending to the kid, just a few moments later was Coach Vardanien). Edition of The Californian Get this The Californian page for free from Friday, February 1, 1957 d Enjoyment For if very Member of THE FAMILY . I assume you went to Pacoima after Terra Bella. I ran inside my house and asked my mother what happened. It still looks pretty darned good. I was an eyewitness to the carnage. Dolores Smith Pope. He never forgot the sight he saw the rest of his life. \f0\fs22 \cf2 \cb3 \expnd0\expndtw0\kerning0 The Pacoima Mid-Air Collision. I rarely get to southern California but I will be in the area on June 4 and June 5. \outl0\strokewidth0 \strokec2, Eyewitness to the Carnage A Personal Account of the 1957 Pacoima Crash, Corpor-Antics: Corporate Nibblings at Our Quality of Life, I Felt That I Had Saved My Own Life: A Polish Womans Harrowing Story of Illegal Abortion, Nothing Encapsulates the False Promise of Capitalism Like Plastic. When we caught sight of the aircraft it appeared that its decent was nearly vertical. So, it is not hard to understand why you cling to each other even though it was many years ago. I like that guy. The noise of the crash was so much louder than It sounded in the recording, but my husband, who was in the graduating class at San Fernando Jr. High, and did not hear the plane crash, said, when he heard the recording, Wow.. After that I spent time reading some of the other comments and read what Richard Berger had posted. It was my understanding that they were holding a graduation rehearsal in front of B-9 students. when the schools power goes out and the recording winds to a stop. Yes I saw Pam and Carol. thousand pieces of metal falling from Blessings to those who were hurt and my thoughts are with the families of those who passed away. Yours is the first to tell about those scars from a mental health professionals point of view. Also, because your comment was a reply to a comment left in 2012, it appears after that comment and not near the end with more recent comments. HI Russ Yes, my classroom was one row back from the fence dividing the two schools. His friend, Richard Berger, was not as lucky and got severe burns over much of his back and legs. Paul Morse, who passed away a few years ago, was a very close friend of my family. If so, did you learn the identity of the teacher aiding the injured student? Anybody out there remember her? 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