Navy jet makes emergency landing An F/A-18 Navy jet screamed over the La Jolla and University City neighborhoods around 10 p.m. on Thursday, March 18 to make an emergency landing at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar on Runway 6. The jet flew over the same neighborhood where an F/A-18 Hornet had crashed into the home of the Yoon family in University City, killing two women and two children, in late 2008. The pilot was attempting for the first time to make a nighttime landing on an aircraft carrier north of San Diego. The pilot failed to land on the aircraft carrier and since he was in training, the military called for an “emergency” landing even though nothing was technically wrong with the plane or the pilot, according to Steve Fiebing, deputy public affairs officer for the commander of Naval Air Forces. The aircraft carrier was closest to Miramar so the pilot was sent there, according to Fiebing. “Because he was in a training situation, if they fail to trap on the ship, they’re sent to the nearest military airfield to make a landing at that air station on land, versus trying to land on the carrier,” Fiebing said. The March 18 emergency landing unnerved and angered neighbors who heard the plane fly over, however. Retired Navy pilot Ron Belanger ran out of his house when he heard the plane. Belanger, 67, lives on Cather Avenue, four doors down from the Yoon house that was struck by the military jet two years ago. “I thought he was coming right toward my house,” Belanger said. “… He went by south of us and was flying very low at 100 to 150 feet above my home.” Belanger believes a distressed plane shouldn’t fly over the populated area but should approach Miramar from the east over the designated crash zone, or land at the North Island Naval Air Station on Coronado. Marine Corps Maj. Jay Delarosa said the military’s policy is to send planes in an emergency situation to the nearest airfield. “The bottom line is that when an emergency is declared, they find the quickest, safest path,” Delarosa said. “They chose the most direct route. It’s not a prohibited air space. The plane landed safely and we made the right decision to bring it down.” Scripps scientists explore Chilean earthquake site A team of researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography launched an eight-day expedition of the Chilean coast March 17 to study the rupture site of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake that struck the region Feb. 27. The team is conducting its study from aboard Scripps’ research vessel Melville, which was stationed off the coast of Chile for a separate exploration when the quake hit. Because the ship was already in Chile, the Scripps Oceanography team had a rare scientific opportunity to rapidly capture data from the ruptured ocean floor. Researchers will use sonar mapping to produce topographical maps of the site, which they can compare to data collected by Germany’s Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM-GEOMAR) before the quake happened. The Scripps team will be joined by researchers from Chile’s Universidad Católica in Valparaiso, as well as scientists from IFM-GEOMAR. Driver pleads guilty A drunken driver pleaded guilty March 19 to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in connection with the fiery crash that killed Jared Franklin Purton, a scientist who worked at the Scripps Research Institute on Dec. 13, 2009. Michael Patrick Landri, 30, of San Diego, admitted to driving while under the influence of alcohol when his Infinity struck Purton’s vehicle at the intersection of Torrey Pines Road and Genesee Avenue not far from where Purton worked in La Jolla. The impact ruptured the gas tank of Landri’s vehicle, causing his car and Purton’s Volkswagen Passat to erupt in flames. Deputy District Attorney Renee Palermo said Landri faces a maximum 10-year term in state prison. San Diego Superior Court Judge Eugenia Eyherabide set sentencing for May 14. Palermo said she will argue for a prison sentence. Palermo said Landri, a bartender, had come from a Christmas party at a hotel he worked at and his blood/alcohol level was 0.16, which is twice the legal limit. Landri was driving too fast when he struck Purton’s vehicle around 9:53 p.m. and Purton died at the scene. Palermo said Purton was on a work visa from Australia and doing research at Scripps Research as a post doctorate. He was engaged to a woman who also worked at Scripps. Purton lived in Pacific Beach. Landri remains free on $150,000 bond on condition he abstain from alcohol and doesn’t go to places where alcohol is served. Firefighters go on the auction block Rock Bottom Brewery, 8980 Villa La Jolla Drive, is auctioning off fire- fighters for a date at its restaurant to benefit the UCSD Burn Center on March 31 at 6 p.m. It’s the 10th year running for the auction and Rock Bottom hopes to raise $10,000 for the center. “People love firefighters,” said Cory Beckwith, vice president of the city fire fighters union 145 IAFF. “They have the right attitude and they’re very professional, but also they’re a fun group of guys who are willing to go out there and have a good time.” Beckwith said the union runs a non-profit that draws money from fire fighters’ paychecks and typically raises $100,000 annually to support different causes in the community. Rock Bottom will also auction off a football autographed by Chargers’ center Nick Hardwick, a Hornblower cruise, a fishing trip, golf clubs, SeaWorld passes and gift certificates to restaurants.