A Father's Heartbreak

I can't even imagine the pain this poor father is going through after an out-of-control Navy jet crashed into this house and killed his family. However much his pain, he's refusing to blame the pilot for his family's tragedy:

A Korean immigrant who lost his wife, two children and mother-in-law when a Marine Corps jet slammed into the family’s house said Tuesday he did not blame the pilot, who ejected and survived.

“Please pray for him not to suffer from this accident,” a distraught Dong Yun Yoon told reporters gathered near the site of Monday’s crash of an F/A-18D jet in San Diego’s University City community.

“He is one of our treasures for the country,” Yoon said in accented English punctuated by long pauses while he tried to maintain his composure.

“I don’t blame him. I don’t have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could,” said Yoon, flanked by members of San Diego’s Korean community, relatives and members from the family’s church.

Authorities said four people died when the jet crashed into the Yoon family’s house while the pilot was trying to reach nearby Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Another, unoccupied house also was destroyed.

Yoon named the victims as his infant daughter Rachel, who was born less than two months ago; his 15-month-old daughter Grace; his wife, Young Mi Yoon, 36; and her 60-year-old mother, Suk Im Kim, who he said had come to the United States from Korea recently to help take care of the children.

Fighting back tears, he said of his daughters: “I cannot believe that they are not here right now.”

“I know there are many people who have experienced more terrible things,” Yoon said. “But, please, tell me how to do it. I don’t know what to do.”

… Yoon’s wife came to the United States about four years ago, Shin said.

Yoon spoke softly when he talked about his wife.

“It was God’s blessing that I met her about four years ago. She was a lovely wife and mother,” he said.

His voice fading, he added: “She loves me and babies. I just miss her so much.”

God bless him. It's hard to see how any good can come out of this for his future, but we're not privy to God's plans.

And believe me, the pilot will forever second guess the decisions he made as he tried to get a failing jet back to the air base. Could he have done something different, perhaps stayed out over the ocean instead of trying to get back to Miramar? Probably, but given the information he had available at the time, I'm sure with his training he did everything he thought he should do to get the plane safely back to the base.

Once the jet became uncontrollable he only had two choices: Stay with a jet he couldn't control and die in the process, or get out and hope it doesn't hit anything. It sounds like he was out of options.