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City of Santa Ana Emergency Operations Plan
<br />Part 1 Basic Plan
<br />In incidents involving civilian aircraft, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), with
<br />support from the Police Department, will have jurisdiction over the crash area (the military has investigative
<br />jurisdiction over any incident involving military aircraft) and an investigation into the cause of the crash will be
<br />completed before the area is released for cleanup. Because aircraft crashes often occur with a very high-speed
<br />impact into the ground, often followed by intense fire, the bodies of persons killed in the crash, either on the
<br />aircraft or on the ground, may be substantially destroyed. This will require a lengthy and detailed process to
<br />recover all of the human remains and any personal effects that can be used to identify them before cleanup can
<br />begin. The clean-up operation may require removing large debris, clearing roadways, demolishing unsafe
<br />structures, and towing demolished vehicles. This combined investigation, recovery of remains and cleanup may
<br />take days or weeks and would result in extended or long-term road closures, evacuated residences and closed
<br />schools and businesses in the affected area.
<br />Local Aircraft Crash Events
<br />On November 23, 1968, a twin -propeller commuter aircraft flying from LAX into John Wayne Airport
<br />encountered heavy fog on final approach to the airport. The aircraft struck a 30-foot-tall light standard and crashed
<br />across all six lanes of the 55 Freeway in the area of MacArthur Boulevard, killing all 9 persons aboard, two pilots
<br />and seven passengers.
<br />On February 17, 1981, Air California Flight 336, a Boeing 737 flying from San Jose, carrying 105 passengers and
<br />5 crew members, was cleared to land at SNA and began to land. Air traffic controllers realized another aircraft
<br />had been cleared for takeoff on the same runway and both planes were ordered to abort. Flight 336's pilot retracted
<br />the landing gear and attempted to ascend, but the plane slammed onto the runway, skidded 2,000 feet, broke apart
<br />and caught fire. After emergency evacuation, all passengers and crew survived, though four were seriously injured
<br />and 30 more suffered lesser injuries.
<br />On December 15, 1993, a twin -engine corporate jet chartered by the In -and -Out burger chain was approaching
<br />John Wayne Airport and suddenly lost power over the City. The plane slammed nose first into a field next to the
<br />Crevier BMW dealership at the Santa Ana Auto Mall on Edinger Avenue. Both pilots and all three passengers
<br />were killed.
<br />On November 30, 1996, a small, private twin -engine jet carrying one pilot and two passengers took off from John
<br />Wayne Airport with the boarding ladder mistakenly still attached to the plane. The pilot quickly attempted to
<br />circle back to the airport but lost control and crashed through the roof of a medical supply warehouse on McGaw
<br />Avenue in the City of Irvine, near the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and the 55 Freeway. All three aboard
<br />were killed and the warehouse was destroyed in the fire, but fortunately it was a Saturday and no persons on the
<br />ground were injured.
<br />On June 30, 2017, a private, twin -engine plane suffered engine failure immediately after takeoff from SNA and
<br />attempted to return to the airport, but was unable to maintain altitude and crashed onto the 405 Freeway just short
<br />of the runway, bursting into flames. The two occupants were seriously injured but survived, and with considerable
<br />luck, no motorists on the crowded freeway suffered serious injury.
<br />On August 5, 2018 at approximately 12:30 PM, the pilot of a private Cessna 414 aircraft flying from Concord,
<br />California declared an emergency of unknown type upon approach to John Wayne Airport. As air traffic
<br />controllers were preparing emergency landing instructions, the aircraft nosedived into the parking lot of a retail -
<br />shopping plaza on the southwest corner of Bristol Street and MacArthur Boulevard, narrowly missing the occupied
<br />shopping center but impacting parked vehicles in the lot. All five occupants of the aircraft were killed, but no
<br />persons on the ground were injured.
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