Originally Posted by
WHBM
It is strange how these close encounters occur. Just over three years earlier, in December 1987, I went to LAX to return to London. I always enjoyed going up to that restaurant (still there apparently) up in the Theme Building, and I also took a few photos, including a PSA BAe146 leaving Terminal 1. Then off to the London flight. By the time I was back home, the crew of PSA1771 had been attacked in flight, and it was lost up in central California.
Not my only experience like that.
I was living on the central coast of California when the PSA BAe 146 crashed into a hillside above a reservoir near Cayucos in San Luis Obispo county. We sent one of our helicopters to the scene to assist at the request of the local Sheriff's dept. The crash site is in the beautiful coast range area adjacent to the Paso Robles wine region.
I also had previously met one of the passengers during a business meeting who was on PS 1771. He was a senior executive with Chevron who was traveling back to their corporate headquarters in the Bay Area. This gentleman had access to a business jet operated by Chevron's corporate aviation dept. but elected to fly commercial that day as it was his stated desire to save his employer some money and thus not use the company airplane.....