‘A lasting tribute’: Memorial honors victims of PSA Flight 182 crash in Southern California

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Wednesday marked 46 years since Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 crashed in San Diego’s North Park neighborhood.

A look back

Tragedy struck on the fateful day of Sept. 25, 1978 — a day that will always be remembered as a time of loss for so many families.

Just after 9 a.m., PSA Flight 182 collided mid-air with a Cessna aircraft. The small plane broke apart from the impact. Meanwhile, fragments of the commercial flight, a routine route between Sacramento and San Diego, rained down from the sky.

A total of 144 people, including bystanders on the ground below, died as a result of the double plane crash.

Remembering the victims

A cemented memorial honoring the victims can now be visited in-person in North Park, San Diego.

On Wednesday, Councilmember Stephen Whitburn (District 3) unveiled a long-awaited memorial plaque to honor those lost in the incident. It’s located at the intersection of Dwight and Nile streets, where the crash occurred.

The memorial comes after the local community had repeatedly requested for decades that there be a permanent tribute to the victims. Whitburn took it upon himself to make that happen.

“For far too long, there has been no memorial to the victims of this tragedy,” said the councilmember. “The crash of PSA Flight 182 is a significant event in San Diego’s history. This plaque will be a lasting tribute to honor the lives lost, the families affected, and the legacy of safety improvements in aviation that followed.”

The PSA Flight 182 crash not only impacted the San Diego community, it also had far-reaching effects on aviation safety standards worldwide.

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