PSA Flight 182

Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) Flight 182 was a Boeing 727-214 commercial airliner, registration, N533PS that crashed with a private Cessna 172 light aircraft over San Diego, California on September 25, 1978.

It was Pacific Southwest Airlines' first fatal accident. The death toll of 144 makes it the deadliest aircraft disaster in California history. Until the crash of American Airlines Flight 191, it was also the deadliest plane crash in U.S. aviation history.

Both aircraft crashed into North Park, a San Diego neighborhood, killing all 137 people on both aircraft and seven people on the ground in houses, including two children. Nine others on the ground were injured and 22 homes were destroyed or damaged by the impact and the spreading of debris.

The Boeing 727 flew in on top of and behind the Cessna, unbeknownst to the Cessna pilots. The larger 727's right wing flaps and left main landing gear collided with the Cessna, which immediately exploded and fell to the ground below in flames. The burning PSA continued on for another few kilometeres before crashing in a residential area with high vertical speed and exploding, killing everyone on board instantly.

PSA Flight 182 Media

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  Wreckage of PSA 182 after the crash

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  PSA 182 crash site as it appeared in 2010: Looking west down Dwight St., Nile Street intersection is in foreground; Boundary St. intersection in background. The initial impact was about 30 ft (9.1 m) to the right of the photographer, on Nile St.

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  Plaque honoring crash victims

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  PSA 182 Memorial at San Diego Air & Space Museum

Other websites

• Article about Flight 182 Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine on PSA History Page
• PSA Flight 182 & 1771 Memorial Page Archived 2009-07-19 at the Wayback Machine at The PSA History Museum Archived 2020-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
• San Diego magazine 20th anniversary article about the PSA Disaster - Archived copy from www.archive.org
• "Death Over San Diego", Time Magazine, October 9, 1978 Archived October 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
• TV Channel 10 (in San Diego) 25th Anniversary article with eyewitness accounts Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine