Plane crash victims

’People on the floor are the lucky ones’

By David Matt Green
September 25, 1978
Southern Cross Assistant Editor

"The people here on the floor are the lucky ones," said Augustinian Father Tom Bonica. "It’s their families who are going to feel the pain."

Father Bonica was standing in the gymnasium of St. Augustine High School in San Diego. Three days earlier he had stood in the same building for a pep rally for the school’s football team.

On this day, however, the gym was filled not with enthusiastic students, but with the remains of the victims of the crash between a Boeing 727 and a Cessna 172.

The gymnasium was now a morgue.

Earlier in the day, at a little after 9 a.m., Father Bonica had been one of the first people to reach the scene of the crash.

"I heard the explosion and saw the smoke," Father Bonica said. "I gave general absolution from where I was, then got into a car and drove six or seven blocks to the site of the crash.

"The police were already there. At first they weren’t going to let me through, then one officer came over and said, ’If I were one of those people, I would want you there with me, Father.’

"The officer got me into the area, and I anointed about 50 bodies," Father Bonica said. "I’ve never been involved in anything like this before, and I hope I never go through anything like it again. It was gruesome."

Another Augustinian actually saw the mid-air collision.

"I was standing outside talking to the principal and the vice principal," said Father Jim Clifford. "I happened to look up and I saw the jet and a small plane near it. I said, ’They’re too close!’ just as the jet started to bank slightly.

"Then the small plane hit the wing of the jet and there was an explosion," Father Clifford continued. "The jet’s wing burst into flames and the jet turned right toward the school.

"It looked like it was going to hit us, so I started yelling, ’Run! Run!’ But it went down about six blocks from here. It was a sight I’ll never forget."

Father Clifford went to the crash site with Father Bonica and two other Augustinians, Fathers John Ranallo and Anthony Wasko, the St. Augustine principal.

A number of students also hurried to the area, according to Bill O’Shaunghnessy, a lay teacher at St. Augustine who also went to the site.

"I saw about a dozen of our kids over there," O’Shaunghnessy said. "They were running up into the flames with little garden hoses, showing no regard for their own lives. I had to keep chasing them back to where they would be safe."

When the teachers and students had done as much as they could, they returned to the school, where more than 550 shocked students gathered with the 30 faculty members to offer a mass for the victims.

Then the students were dismissed and police officers, military personnel and medical people from throughout the area began to replace them on the campus, which had been chosen as the site of the police department’s command post.

The gymnasium was quickly set up as a first aid station and as a temporary morgue. It soon became obvious, however, that the first aid people would devote most of their efforts to helping police and firemen stricken by the more than 100 degree heat at the scene.

None of the 136 people on the plane had survived the crash.

Most of the people at St. Augustine spent the morning waiting, while at the crash site workers sifted through the wreckage for what remained of the victims.

Nothing could be moved until everything was catalogued as to its location at the site, a necessary step for the investigation which always follows an air-crash.

Early in the afternoon workers from the coroner’s department finally began moving the remains, in large yellow or white zippered bags, over to St. Augustine.

As each bag was carried into the gymnasium, either Father Bonica or Father Ranallo went over and stood along side as a doctor opened the bag. Then the priest anointed the remains.

Other priests and lay teachers helped maintain order in the gym, or stood to the side talking to reporters who had begun to arrive at the school from all over the state.

The members of the media were confined to a small area in one corner of the room, fenced off from the main area by a row of tables.

Some of the media people just sat at the tables and stared, dazed out of their professional non-involvement by the colossal feeling of helplessness that filled the gymnasium.

By 5 p.m. more than 100 bags lay in neat rows on the floor, beneath a basketball backboard and about two dozen banners commemorating athletic victories, many of which occured in this very building.

People began to carry the bags out a side door and up into refrigerated trucks, where they would be stored until other arrangements could be made.

But the workers at the crash site were nowhere near finished removing the remains of the victims from the wreckage, and the total number of bags would eventually reach 250.

Thus far the coroner’s office has placed the number of deaths at 144, the combined total of victims who were either in the 727 or the Cessna, or were killed on the ground when the jet hit.

That figure could have been much higher, according to Father Bonica.

"There are two schools within a few blocks of where the plane hit," Father Bonica said. "If they had come down over at McKinley grade school or here at St. Augustine, there could easily have been over 600 deaths.

"I can see God’s hand in that," Father Bonica said. "I think he kept it away from the schools."

Boston filmmaker David Fresina will be in San Diego from late Friday night until Tuesday afternoon, to do pre-production work on his film, "Return to Dwight and Nile," a documentary about the Pacific Southwest Airlines plane crash that killed 144 people in North Park on September 25, 1978.

I was there that day, as a reporter/photographer for the Southern Cross Catholic newspaper, and I shot this photo, which is posted in several places on the Internet. Dave found it and contacted me, and I’ve been helping him connect with others who were there.

Following is Dave’s proposal for the film. If you also were involved with the crash in some way and would like to meet with Dave while he is in San Diego, please e-mail him via his MySpace page, MySpace.com/davef30. Actual filming will take place in September, around the time of the 30th anniversary of what was then the worst air disaster in American history.

NANTASCOT FILMS

January 25, 2008

Dave Fresina
Hull, MA

NANTASCOT FILMS is an independent production company specializing in short films and documentaries.

SUBJECT: Documentary Film about the 1978 PSA Crash in San Diego

PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, WRITER: David Fresina

WORKING TITLE: "Return to Dwight and Nile"

FORMAT: Mini DV or HD

PROPOSED LENGTH: Approx 80 minutes

STATUS: In pre-production

ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY: Proposed principal locations will include: San Diego International Airport, San Diego Aerospace Museum, the crash site in North Park at Dwight and Nile, St. Augustine High School, various locations in and around San Diego.

Interviews and subjects will include those who witnessed the crash, those who were at the crash site, reporters, photographers, fire/rescue/police, relatives of the crash victims, residents in and around the crash site, PSA employees, FAA/NTSB officials, city officials.

As we approach the 30th anniversary of the disaster, this documentary will serve as a memory of the tragedy using photos, archival and current film footage and interviews with persons who were there to witness the event unfold.

The crash of PSA 182 is not only a major part of San Diego and California history, but it is also an important part of aviation history, photo journalism, and American history as it was the worst airplane crash in the USA at the time.

The project is still in the pre-production/research phase as I am seeking persons who are willing to tell their story on film and to return to the crash site on the anniversary in September 2008.

I am also seeking access to the various locations mentioned above as well as archival film footage, photos and perhaps the whereabouts of the remaining wreckage.

ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: David Fresina was born and raised in Abington, MA, about 17 miles south of Boston. He currently resides in Hull, MA.

EDUCATION: Massasoit Community College (1990-1992), Bridgewater State College (Sociology, Communications 1992-1994).

FILM/WRITING/ARTIST: Author of 10 screenplays. Writer, Director, Producer
of several short films both based on his original screenplays "Monster" (2000) and "Oceanside"(2002).

Producer and Principal Photographer for the short film "Seven’s Gate," which won Best Comedy Short from the American Film Institute (1996).

Writer, Editor, Publisher "The Video Spectator," a film and video newsletter (1993-1995).

Tri County Fair Duxbury, MA (1985) "Best Overall" Sculpture Category (Clay House). Model House Builder/Rock Sculptor (1995-present).

CURRENTLY IN PRODUCTION: "Needle and Thread" a documentary about a local female artist who has pioneered a new genre in Women’s art.

Page 92 of the November 15th issue of the San Diego Reader features a great interview by Jay Allen Sanford with my intelligent and beautiful friend Brenda Xu.

Included with the article is the picture above, which I took during our photo shoot at Torrey Pines on her birthday, September 29. If you look real close at the upper right side of the picture in the paper, you will find my name in itsy bitsy letters.

You can see all the shots from that morning by clicking here: Brenda Xu At Torrey Pines

On Saturday I was part of a little show at Lestat's West called "A Day and Night of Art & Poetry," which the organizers are hoping to turn into at least a bi-monthly event.

This wasn't your dear old grandmother's dainty art and poetry show, however, as it also featured Murrugun the Mystic, who ate fire, swallowed swords, pierced his arm with a sharp wire, and offered audience members the opportunity to staple one-dollar bills to his abdomen, five-dollar bills to his nipples, and twenty-dollar bills to his forehead! I shot these pictures during his performance.

Yes, a bunch of music photographers and some artists did display our work around the room, and yes, another bunch of poets did read their words to a poet-filled audience, but somehow none of that was nearly as exciting as Murrugun!

It all was pretty darn cool, though, and tons of fun!

Thanks to my friends Lou Brazier and Jason Nielsen of Lestat's for honoring me by inviting me to participate in the very first show! Thanks also to Billy Brazier and Jason Neese, the founders of a poetry journal and small indie publisher called "Kill Poet," who co-sponsored the event with Lestat's!

The music photographers on display were Louis Brazier, Photoboy Jason, Steve Covault, David Matt Green (that's my setup in the bottom picture) and Kelly Wood.

The artists were Nezzy Nation and Angela Patua.

Those who read their poetry included Aurora, Chesalie, Cat, J(Syn), Miss Florence and WjB.

I have created a gallery of pictures that I shot during the day. To see an index of my photos, click below. To view the photos as a mini-movie of the day and night, click on the first picture, then click on the Start Slide Show button.

"A Day and Night of Art & Poetry"

I got to attend the Red Bull Air Race over San Diego Bay on Saturday, September 22, thanks to Larry and Judy Thrall and thanks especially to their friend Mary Ann Williams.

One of my photos is above. To see a gallery of my other pictures from the event, click here: Red Bull Air Race Photos

By the way, people often say that watching one of my slide shows is like being at an event right beside me! To watch any slide show, click on the first picture in a gallery, then click on "Start Slide Show" at the top right corner of the next screen.

I haven't added any new public photo galleries to my web site, ShyCloud.com, since early April, as I've been too busy shooting pictures to spend much time editing them.

I have built quite a few galleries that have been partially edited, though, and this week I will be working to finish them and then add them to the index page for DMG's Gallery.

Here are links for some of the galleries in progress:

Indie By Design @ Humphrey's (04-25-07)

Chelsea Flor & Doktor Dave Sawyer (04-25-07)

Listen Local Mixer @ Desi's (05-15-07)

Brenda Xu @ Turquoise Coffee (05-24-07)

Brenda, Renata & Michael @ Vinbladh's (05-31-07)

Brenda Xu's CD Release (06-10-07)

Metro @ Humphrey's (06-13-07)

Brenda, Lindsey & Ivan @ Vinbladh's (06-26-07)

Listen Local Music Mixer (07-10-07)

Sheila Sondergard's CD Release (07-11-07)

Jane Lui & Greg Friedman (07-20-07)

Listen Local Company Picnic 1 (07-21-07)

I am a captain of the Street Team for "Peaceful Warrior," which reopens March 30. Best Buy is giving away free tickets for opening weekend. Each person can get up to 10 tickets. Here is an e-mail I received from Dan Millman, who wrote the book on which the movie is based, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior."


Greetings Peaceful Warriors:

The FREE TICKET site for "Peaceful Warrior" is now FULLY FUNCTIONAL.

Click on: bestbuy.com/peacefulwarrior

(For future reference, you can also go to peacefulwarrior.com and click on "free tickets")

The process is simple, but read the directions.

Put in your zip code to find the closest theater, and then print your tickets.

You can get up to 10 free tickets to give to friends, family, co-workers, or employees!

Free tickets are for opening weekend only (March 30 - April 1).

(You can of course pay to see the film any day while it's playing.)

Have fun at the movies!

Dan

Peaceful Warrior Services San Rafael, CA 94903

I just created four new photo galleries. See them and 28 more at: ShyCloud.com/DMGsGallery

Three of the new galleries feature Programs 4, 5 and 6 of the 2006 Actors Alliance Festival of short plays.







The fourth new gallery has the first photos I've uploaded from my old 35mm film camera. They are from a show I shot at Twiggs back on November 3, 2005, which featured Audrey Surface, Renata Youngblood and Christopher Dallman.



That gallery is for Audrey, because today is her birthday! Happy Birthday Audrey!

I've added four more galleries to ShyCloud.com's new Photo Gallery, which gives us a total of 20 so far.

Click on the link above, or on the Photo Gallery links in the navigation bars located at the top and bottom of this page.


071406-Kim DiVine & Lee Coulter


062306-Saba's CD Release


061806-Steve Covault's Photo Show


053106-New Acoustic Generation 3

There are now 16 separate galleries in the new ShyCloud.com Photo Gallery!

Click on the link above, or on the Photo Gallery links in the navigation bars located at the top and bottom of ShyCloud.com's pages.


011007-Hot Chicks In Bands 2


122306-DMG's Birthday Dinner


121706-Troubadour Holiday Party


121506-Jane Lui With Strings


120606-Metro @ Humphrey's


111906-Listen Local Cooks CD Release


110906-Kathryn D's Birthday


110806-Hot Chicks In Bands 1


101506-Music For Mattie Mills


090706-Bob Wilson's 50th Birthday


082406-Lindsey Yung @ Lestat's


080506-Randi Driscoll's CD Release


070306-Chelsea & Bill @ 4th & B


051306-Anything For The Shot!


050606-Jane Lui @ Milano Coffee


030606-Miz Mandy's CD Release