SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- 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.
Dong Yun Yoon addresses reporters Tuesday, a day after a jet crashed into his home and killed four of his relatives.
"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. Watch Yoon discuss relatives' death »
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."
Marine Corps authorities said the pilot, whose name
was not released, was hospitalized after he parachuted from the jet,
and an investigation into the cause of the crash has been launched.
The jet had just performed landing training on a Navy aircraft carrier
before the pilot reported having trouble, according to the Marine
Corps. Authorities described the jet as disabled.
Three bodies
-- those of two adults and an infant -- were recovered hours after the
crash on Monday. The fourth body -- that of a child -- was recovered
Tuesday as firefighters sifted through the rubble of the Yoon house.
Authorities said they did not expect to find any other victims of the crash.
Yoon's minister, Daniel Shin, told reporters the Yoon family had moved
into the house a little more than a month ago. He said Yoon came to the
United States in 1989 and had since become a naturalized citizen. Yoon
works as manager of "a variety store -- a store where they sell a
variety of things," Shin said.
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."
The Marine Corps said Tuesday it would take "a minimum of five to seven working days" to clean up the crash site.
San Diego
resident Ian Lerner said he was heading to lunch at a shopping center
about a half-mile from the neighborhood of about 20 homes when he saw
the jet flying low.
"It was, oh, gosh, maybe a couple of hundred feet off the ground. And it was quiet; I think the engine was off," Lerner said.iReport.com: See Lerner's photos
"Then all of a sudden, we saw the canopy of the jet explode and go up,
and then we saw the pilot blast out of the plane and the parachute
open," Lerner said. Watch a witness describe the pilot's main concern »
Another witness said the jet was flying at a low altitude and "just spiraled, right out of [the movie] 'Top Gun.' "
A photograph taken at the crash site showed the pilot, after ejection,
sitting on the front lawn, making a call on his cell phone before he
was taken to a hospital. Watch burning debris near crash site »
The pilot was the only occupant of the two-seat aircraft, according to the Marine Corps.
The Union-Tribune spoke with Steve Diamond, a retired naval aviator who
said he found the pilot in a tree behind a house. He told the paper he
helped the man, who Diamond said was a lieutenant in his 20s, down from
the tree. See satellite photo showing crash site, airfield »
The pilot told him that after he lost power in one engine, it was
decided he would try to get the jet to Miramar on the single working
engine, Diamond told the paper.
The pilot was in communication
with military air traffic controllers before the jet crashed about two
miles from the airfield, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the pilot ejected moments before
the crash and landed in a tree. Jason Widmer said he talked to the
pilot, who said he had tried to steer the jet from the homes and into a
brushy canyon.
"He was pretty shook up and pretty concerned if
he had killed anyone," Widmer told San Diego 6. "He had seen his bird
go into a house."
A retired general, a pilot who has flown for
40 years and more than 270 missions in Vietnam, said the decision to
eject is up to the pilot. F/A-18D planes are very dependable, but any
aircraft is subject to error.
That model has two engines, and it
can operate with one engine. But if one engine malfunctions, it's
possible that a blade can break off and fly into the other engine,
causing it to malfunction, too. If both engines are inoperable and the
plane descends below 10,000 feet, it's likely the pilot will soon lose
control.
When the pilot pulls a ring-like lever, a series of
automatic actions is set off: The pilot's harness comes loose, and he
is pushed through a canopy, which is rigged to facilitate him breaking
through it without causing injury. A pilot can opt to manually activate
his parachute, but if he doesn't, the parachute will open on a timer.
The plane would crash randomly once the pilot is no longer in control. See photos of fiery crash site »
Inside a house in the neighborhood, Robert Johnson sat in his living
room with his daughter, Heather Certain, and her 2-year-old son,
Nicholas, according to the Union-Tribune. They heard the explosion and
then saw a giant fireball in the picture window facing their front
yard, the newspaper reported. They ran out of the house. Watch aerial footage of crash site »
"The house shook like an earthquake," Johnson said. "I saw the flames right there in front of my house."