PSA Flight 182 - A mid-air collision and a sky on fire.
September 25, 1978 – A Sky On Fire – The PSA Flight 182 Disaster
September 25, 1978 – CBS Hourly News – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
September 25, 1978 – a tragic day for flying. The worst mid-air disaster in U.S. history occurred in the skies over San Diego this day. A commuter flight, PSA 182 was readying to land when a Cessna 172, carrying a student and instructor practicing instrument landing collided with the Boeing 727. The mid-air collision and resulting crash took the lives of all 136 passengers aboard the PSA flight as well as the pilot and instructor of the Cessna. Flaming debris and bodies landed on a residential neighborhood, raining down fire, destroying some 14-16 homes, killing an unknown number of people (as of news time) on the ground. Emergency workers from throughout the San Diego area were summoned to the scene to help out with the victims. A makeshift morgue/first aid station was set up at a Catholic School a few blocks from the residential street virtually destroyed as a result of the crash. Classes were recessed to accommodate first responders who were flown in by helicopter to aid in possible rescue of any survivors.
And there was other news – Striking Teachers were released from jail in Bridegport Connecticut and some 2200 teachers in Dayton Ohio were still on strike, going into its third week and leaving some 37,000 children without classes. Many teachers in Dayton were defying a court order to go back to work. The teachers faced jail time (just like their Bridgeport brethren) for up to 10 days if they continued to ignore the court order.
And Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian vice-President, was beginning on this day, direct talks with Israel which would result in an Egyptian-Israel Peace treaty. Egyptian President Anwar Sadat said the negotiations themselves were to begin just as soon as the Israeli Parliament decided whether or not to accept the Camp David accords. In Jerusalem, Prime Minister Begin told the Knesset Israel must agree to dismantle Jewish settlements in the Sinai and accept a peace agreement with Egypt in what he called “the supreme national interest”. A vote from The Knesset was expected within days.
And that’s just a sample of what happened, this September 25, 1978 from CBS Radio News.
