As Bad As A Napalm Attack: The Sunvalley Mall Disaster | Fascinating Horror

[@cming9423]

My name is Chris Ming. I was employed as a Sun Valley Mall Security Supervisor on the night of this Tragedy. I worked for the Company that owned the mall. The Taubman Company. I was a Sargent with 4 Officers working with me and 1 Security Dispatcher in the Security Office. I was on the upper level of the Mall in front of J.C. Penney when I looked down the length of the Mall, south toward the Middle of the Mall, at about 8:37pm. I personally heard the explosion, saw the fireball and heard the popping noises associated with the explosion. There are a couple of inaccurate items in this Segment: 1) At 5:30 of this video the statement is made that "glass Christmas ornaments began to explode in the sudden rush of heat" This is not accurate. I personally witnessed this. What was 'exploding' were actually huge lighting fixtures hanging from the roof of the Mall at what was called at that time Mid-Mall. The fixtures at Mid-Mall consisted of approximately 200-300 bulbs arranged in a huge Ball shape. 2) At 7:20 of this video it is stated that the occupants of the airplane were trapped in the plane 'hanging the Skylight". No further mention is made of if the plane remained in that position and/or for how long. This is not accurate. The plane had broken through the roof and continued on down into the North Air Well located at the Mid-Mall location. The South Air Well was above the Santa Photo Opportunity. Santa was located on the Lower Level of the South Air Well. The North Air Well contained the enormous Christmas Tree that was on the Lower Level but extended up and beyond the floor of the Upper Level at Mid-Mall. In fact in this section of this Segment you can see much smaller versions of those Light Fixtures. The larger version being crushed was what caused the "exploding" noises. Additional Information: Although not mentioned in this Segment. There is an ongoing position held by many that the plane crashed into the Macy's store located at Mid-Mall. This is also not accurate. Although in the portion of this Segment at 5:00 seems to indicate a direct hit on Macy's the plane actually missed Macy's completely. The exterior sign of Macy's is located on the exterior part of the roof of the general Mall building itself. My memory of this tragedy is still sharp in my mind. I would also acknowledge the Service of the Security Officers/Dispatcher working with me that night. And also those Mall Security Officers/Supervisors who were Off Duty but chose to put on their Uniforms and respond to the Mall without being told to do so. Thank you for your even handed recounting of this Tragedy. I do appreciate it. Chris Ming

[@illustr8er13]

I've been going to this mall since I moved to CoCo County almost 25 years ago and didn't even know about this tragedy! Thank you for the additional information. That had to have been horrifying.

[@Dolcevita_bakes]

Thanks for the updated info and thank you for all you did that night to help out. I live in California and I had no idea this happened but I was only nine years old at the time. I’ll have to ask my parents about it sounds completely horrifying must’ve been a horrible experience for you and your coworkers and I’m sorry you want through that but thank you for what you did to help of people and for being there for the victims and their families.

[@amandab8433]

Hey I was there that day, and still live about five minutes away. The Mall is still going.

[@EastsideDiary]

Sorry you had to go through that!

[@XxKatielovely1Xx]

Thanks your telling us your story I appreciate your service during that day and I’m happy that you are well and alive from that tragedy

[@bobbob1391]

I was there, I was an assistant Restaurant manager at a restaurant on a pad next to the mall. The Magic Pan. They used the restaurant as a triage center for the injured. We stopped serving and closed the restaurant but there were very strange people who just sat and continued eating while the emergency services were filling the restaurant up with injured people. People actually got angry because we stopped serving.

[@weasel7491]

Having worked restaurant I believe you. I had to explain to people when we are right next to one of the town's tornado sirens, that while that is on, we are required to suspend operation. As well as people who continue eating while we are in the middle of a crisis.

[@princessmarlena1359]

What selfish jerks! Can’t they see the emergency situation going on, or do they just care about their stomachs?

[@lucianograff6512]

Lol

[@lydiagalantmotherf]

People are stupid. Not a restaurant and not a medical emergency but my mom and sister were at a public pool and a storm was coming. The lifeguards said per speaker to get out, and everyone (you know, because they had a brain and some sense) got out of the pool immediately as you could hear the thunder and see some lightning in the distance. Except for this stupid old guy. That old guy kept swimming. The lifeguard told everyone to get out per loud speakers FOUR times! But no! The senile idiot refused. The lifeguard was yelling at that point as well, threatening to drag him out himself, loud enough to be heard 100 meters or more as I was in school still that day. You could hear the guy practically explode. Eventually the idiot got out, but because his wife was now also yelling at him, and everyone left as they SHOULD. Point is, people can be absurdly stupid and selfish, and I hate anyone who gets in the way of those trying to rectify or at least help with a dangerous situation, and I wish them all the bad luck for it!

[@ColorMeIn]

Nice to know boomers have actually never changed

[@endruv_2287]

All things considered, a plane crash in a crowded mall resulting in just 7 deaths is impressive. Lots of respect for the emergency services.

[@ethribin4188]

I was so worried he'd say "and this formed a human crush" at any moment now. But luckily, despite the panic and horror,most people around got themselves together and helped, rather than trampling over eachother.

[@littlebear274]

Especially considering the *burning jet fuel*. That's incredible.

[@mal2ksc]

And only four of them were on the ground. The three in the plane dying is still unfortunate, but in no way could that be laid at the feet of rescuers.

[@cigarsgunsanddiesel8032]

Yeah, could have been a LOT worse!

[@terry_willis]

Unfortunately the 100 people with serious burns will be recovering for many years. Not so good to survive maybe?

[@kimmer6]

That was a very foggy night at my house 2 miles away. I got a call from my panicked wife. She worked at Macy's and was in the 3rd floor store room which is separated by a wall from the ceiling where the plane came through. Where she had been and where the plane came through was 20 feet away. She said that it was a terrorist bomb explosion. Her boss said for her to stay put. I told her to grab her purse and get the hell out of there and go across the street to Carlos Murphy's Irish Mexican restaurant and bar. My brother and I broke all speed limits getting there and we picked her up. She was terrified. We then went back to the Sun Vally Mall East parking lot and saw the tail of the aircraft hanging over the roof. Thinking about this crash still gives me chills. She was pregnant with out son, now 38 years old.

[@Melancholy1966]

I can't understand how an employer can tell people to get back to work during a disaster like that, I read that the same thing happened in the Trade Centers during 9/11. You were right to get out of there!

[@BooBooKittyFuzzyBritches]

I'm so glad your wife is okay. I'm sure it was traumatic for her. ❤ Having said that... Carlos Murphy's Irish Mexican Restaurant? 😂 I would love to see that menu. I bet it was an interesting place. ✌️

[@noir66146]

stay put. WOW

[@jbeach1964]

@@BooBooKittyFuzzyBritches ... Apparently, Carlos Murphy's Irish Mexican was a restaurant chain in California ... You can Google the menu online which features a variety of dishes like Irish Stew, Quiches, Crepes and Mexican Combo Meals with Burritos, Tacos and Enchiladas ... Very interesting indeed! I wonder if the Mariachi band played Irish Jigs there! LOL! 🌮☘🌯

[@kimmer6]

@@noir66146 They told employees at the World Trade Center to stay put as well.

[@Blanco8x8]

One of the saddest things about freak accidents like this is how it make some of the surviving victims regret the trivial choices and actions they made, like taking their kids to the mall to see Santa. There's absolutely no reason to anticipate for this kind of tragedy. You are only safe until someone made a mistake.

[@squisheec]

Sometimes it's not even a mistake. For example if a bird flew into the engine, the pilot had a heart attack, or engine/equipment malfunction. Things beyond control. The pilot was a well experienced one, I would assume this was an accident and not a mistake. Usually when it's a mistake, the pilot will at least try to crash the plane in an area without many people. In this case, it seems like he didn't even have enough time to direct the plane to a safer site. If the pilot was alive I'm sure he would have been absolutely devastated the plane crash killed and injured so many.

[@aninjaguardian]

Agreed. Driving is statistically one of the most dangerous things you can do, but we just don't see it that way. You can be the worlds safest driver, but a mistake out of your control can still kill you

[@HelenBurns-y8c]

So sad. Christmas will never be the same for anyone there that day.

[@NovemberFoxtrotRC]

I was there as a 3 year old with my mom an hour before the plane hit. I went to highschool with a guy who was burned on 90% of his body who just happened to be there when it hit. Some of the roof tar fell right into his stroller. Wild to think about.

[@granty6125]

yeah that’s Crazy bad luck for him,to be in the mall, to be in a stroller, to be parked where he was and for the tar to land on him ,that is just plain crazy bad luck, I certainly hope he’s all good as he can be all these years on from that. Peace be with you Bro 😎 ✌🏻 Not forgetting you who told us of your fate that day,🙏✌🏻

[@jessicablackburn9898]

Naming all of the victims shows a tremendous amount of respect, not only to the victims but to the families as well.

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

RIP to all those who lost their lives, but especially 1 year old Alexander Luong. He died before he even got to live.

[@ChefCT63]

@@TheNewRobotMaster 🙏🙏

[@davidlynds9483]

I mean, it's all public knowledge. The names were in the papers within days.

[@mountainmikeoutdoors]

@@davidlynds9483 Other videos covering the topic have largely dehumanized it by not naming the victims. Just naming the victims grounds it back in reality.

[@danielgreen6302]

@@davidlynds9483 All true, though I don't recall a single channel with this subject matter that bothers taking the time acknowledging the victims or perpetrators. PS All channels that present this material are guilty of the same issue? So What's the problem? To Me, this really has a deeper purpose than just....disaster sensationalism.

[@GregAsdourian]

So I live in Concord and this popped into my feed as I was in line at the Starbucks in this mall. Listening to this while being in the mall is surreal.

[@calihapamama]

That particular Starbucks is just feet from where the plane crashed…

[@dreamofmermaids]

I Live in Concord too.

[@PEGGLORE]

There should be a Costa coffee shop in there called Costa Concordia.

[@anthony4530]

Paying Starbucks ridiculous prices is surreal.

[@Cronoro]

What can of ish are you looking for in yt man? 🤔

[@JustTheBob]

My niece screamed and cried that night. She wanted nothing to do with Santa. We left and were in the parking lot when the plane crashed.

[@HelenBurns-y8c]

That is a too close call.

[@unapologeticallyauthentic]

I'm glad you were in the parking lot that day!! And I'm glad you and your daughter are here!!

[@thaloblue]

Your poor niece. Her spirit was disturbed.

[@georgeeastwood6930]

Was it hard to celebrate Christmas after witnessing that?

[@mazsenior]

I was an on duty firefighter in a neighboring county when the disaster occurred. We all felt helpless that we couldn’t help. The news coverage was absolutely heartbreaking to watch. My heart goes out to all the victims families who are reminded of their losses each holiday season.

[@Flyboy207]

One of the hardest things from my few years firefighting was the inability to help with an incident we weren’t called to. Sitting at a station watching a disaster on TV really gets frustrating.

[@Zorbino88]

I understand why jurisdiction rules exist, but in cases like this, the Chief oughta be able to call an audible and say "Screw it, we're going to help!" without any repercussions.

[@mikesmovingimages]

@@Zorbino88 Ummmm, no. Too much help gets in the way. The help wasn't needed, or it would have been called!

[@funTimesInTheSun]

My dad was on Jury for the Lawsuit when I was a kid.

[@sebkorsnes]

"With big names like Sears, Macys and JC Penny" Man times have changed.

[@Annie_Annie__]

And it was long enough ago that JC Penney’s was using just “Penney’s” on its advertisement/signage. My city still has both a Macy’s and a JC Penney’s, but I wonder for how much longer since both are usually largely empty.

[@teemusid]

All three are still there. Penney's at the North end, Sears at the South end, and Macy's in the middle.

[@jettrooperjp5142]

Funny enough, the sears is still there, one of 9 left remaining. I always tell my friends that tidbit whenever I pass it on my drive

[@EdDantes-v8c]

Jacques Penné 😂

[@darkinproductions]

@@teemusidyup! Can confirm!

[@RIPjkripper]

Burns are such awful injuries, too. Thanks for mentioning that the survivors had such long recoveries and are still coping with the physical and mental issues caused by this.

[@Votrae]

ATC here. The mall's proximity and height was definitely a non-factor, but that's no comfort to the victims and families. The pilot would've been well qualified to fly an instrument approach (low visibility, obstruction-free, charted nav) required in that day's weather. He's not here to defend himself so I won't speculate more. My heart goes to the deceased, and those left with physical and emotional scars.

[@clytle374]

Yeah, a plane can crash anywhere, it's just more likely around an airport as they are more concentrated there. Such a sad event.

[@gilmour6754]

Yeah, this one just seems like a really tragic accident. It's awful, but sometimes the odds just turn out against us.

[@opwave79]

Our local news ran a piece about this crash a few years ago “in memorial”, and fog was definitely a factor. I don’t remember if it was pointed out that the pilot was instrument certified or not.

[@lemonator8813]

​​@@clytle374 especially when they are lined up directly on the ILS. Its just a matter of time until you gey CFIT. Happens at almost every airport eventually. Hell look at Asiana in KSFO CFIT on a clear day

[@rebekahwolkiewicz449]

Plus, it looks like the plane sunk down and crash landed-it didn’t just slam into the side during take off or clip the top.

[@nneichan9353]

I remember this very well. I was a critical care nurse at the time. There was such an outpouring of help so fast that myself and other nurses who offered our help did not get called in to assist.

[@FigaroHey]

"Other nurses and I". Myself is never used as a subject.

[@balthasargerard7246]

​@@FigaroHeyand you have never been laid

[@AI-dp3rd]

@@FigaroHey Neither the time nor the place, my friend. - an English teacher

[@giraffesinc.2193]

@@FigaroHey You're a jerk.

[@rockymountainway8728]

Babies on the internet are endlessly funny.

[@stephenalessini8556]

This is how mini-documentaries should be made. Just the facts. No histrionics whatsoever. British narrator is always a nice touch. I have lived in California, albeit Southern California, all my life and have no recollection of this tragedy. Well made video. My hat is off to you, sirs.

[@adc2327]

I lived 30 miles away in San Francisco. This was a local story, obviously a big story. Why don't I remember it?

[@chrisnoname2725]

@@adc2327it’s not really a big event. Much bigger things have happened since then and governments made sure those events impacted everyone’s lives. Compared to those, things like this are not noticeable even of in the moment they seem like a big deal. People have lives to live, remembering a plane crashing into a mall isn’t that important.

[@adc2327]

@chrisnoname2725 considering it was local for me and I have a pretty good memory, I thought I would recall it.

[@chrisnoname2725]

@ i understand that, maybe it just never was a big issue. A plane near where i live crashed i think into the shopping centre but i am pretty sure it only killed people on the plane. I am sure nobody here remembers it

[@CountD42]

It's wild that the Wikipedia article for the Sunvalley Mall only dedicates a brief paragraph to this. The paragraph about a lighting upgrade has more detail than the part about the crash.

[@ligmasack9038]

just one of the many reasons why Wikipedia sucks, and needs to go away; their bias is the other reason.

[@notthisyourlight]

Why would you want to draw attention to something this horrible?

[@johnnydeagal4400]

@notthisyourlightits Wikipedia, it should mandatory

[@mountaindesert34788]

​@notthisyourlight because it helps us learn for the future. Also, I feel these kind of channels and true crime content wouldn't be so popular if people didn't want to hear about horrible events. I'm curious why you're watching a horror event themed channel if you don't want to hear about this sort of stuff?

[@notthisyourlight]

@mountaindesert34788 every human wants to hear about negativ situations We are wired to focus pn negativ Events, emotions etc Stil i dont see any reason for a mall etc to mention those events to the public

[@dreamofmermaids]

Wow!!! I'm from Concord CA I hardly see anything on this story. It makes me cry. I was working at Mervyn's the day this happened. Friends I knew were burned. A most horrific day. Rest in peace to those that lost their lives. The most frightening and the Loma prieta earthquake. Thank you for covering this. 😭 I still shop at sun valley and think about it often.

[@nunyabusiness9056]

Haha it's pretty cool to see just how many other concord residents and former concord residents are in the comments here. I grew up on Monument Boulevard. That mall was a fixture of my childhood.

[@michelemoneywell8765]

I lived in Concord. The waterpark tragedy in Concord was horrifying. High school students on their graduation field trip died. You forgot to mention that.

[@dannythompson1948]

The crazy part to me is there is absolutely no reminders of this event at sunvalley now. I live 20 min away, and actually go out there all the time. I take my wife and daughter shopping there, my best friend in eng school was an apprentice there, and these videos were the first ive heard of this.

[@miz_logo_lee]

I went to Diablo Valley College across the street two years later. I used to go to Sunvalley mall for lunch sometimes. I don’t recall a trace of the accident by then.

[@000blocks000]

It’s kind of sad there’s no memorial or anything =[

[@aortaplatinum]

Memorials cost money and take up precious retailer space. Remembering the dead would cut into their profits.

[@ethribin4188]

Not even a memorial placket? :C Dam companies trying to brush tragedies under the rug >:c

[@cremdilly7176]

It's better to just move on. I don't want memorials everywhere reminding me of death. We should be celebrating life.

[@seandelap8587]

So heartbreaking to hear about that woman's son

[@RichielaurensIII]

I know I heard it and I audibly went oh my god no

[@jennayoung99]

Same. Just waiting to see santa. 😢

[@BunScholar]

I grew up going to this mall, and since it was pre-internet, I heard local lore about this accident, but never knew the details.

[@stedydubdetroit]

lol I love how there were no such things as newspapers or journalists before the internet existed😂👏🏽

[@BunScholar]

@stedydubdetroit Right, as an elementary school aged kid in the 90s I should have looked for articles in old 1980s newspapers! Why didn't I think of that?

[@turqoiseillinois9955]

Same!! I'm from Antioch. Worked at Macy's for a while.

[@johnnydeagal4400]

@@stedydubdetroitnot a lot of kids think skewer through their local libraries archives in hopes to find the article.

[@RepThe510]

Same, used to go in the late 90s growing up in Brentwood.. It was the "good" mall (sorry Antioch mall). Kids said stuff about this but I too didn't know what really happened...

[@rvanderjagt5944]

The historical marker at 1:20 had me confused til I realized this is actually a picture of Concord, NC.

[@HunterTN]

I was also trying to figure out how Jefferson Davis made it to California in April 1865.

[@dawnstorm9768]

So that's it!😮

[@pn312]

I thought that didn’t look like the Concord that I knew!

[@KeyRo1392]

I’m glad someone else caught that.. that’s where I’m originally from in NC and knew immediately it was home when I seen it.

[@calihapamama]

I was coming to comment on that. 😂

[@markosmywords9202]

This disaster would, sadly, not be the last that Concord, CA would experience, as the Banzai Pipeline Waterslide collapse occurred about 12 years later. If you're curious, FH did make a video on it, but it's age-restricted and kind of hard to find. The "Theme Park Ride Accidents" playlist on his channel page has it though. And as always, another top-notch video. Keep up the incredible work!

[@PinkAgaricus]

Can't it be found just by going directly to FH profile's video tab? I kind of feel like YT suppresses age restricted videos in search when searching the usual way by putting the video's title in search directly.

[@XavierKatzone]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXjTl3Z_j82Doqcsi=3a4fTPIklARj255R

[@XavierKatzone]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kInNZnuBqrqnh5Ysi=3KexnoL4MsFnqNUl

[@Sasuhinagirl1]

Oh wow thanks! I literally didn't even know this video existed. Apparently age restriction really does suppress videos

[@baksatibi]

It's an unlisted video, that's why you can't find it.

[@hellofromrob]

I recall the horrible accident well. Our family lived a few miles away. I was a teenager at the time and clearly remember that my mother told us she had been at the same mall doing some final Christmas shopping about an hour prior to the crash.

[@davidlynds9483]

I worked at Sears at the time. I wasn't working when this happened but my sister and i were trying to get in to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Traffic was absolutely crazy and this was before the plane had struck. It's harder to imagine now, but the mall used to be busy every day but people were almost crammed in like sardines before Christmas. All those parking spots and garages that now sit empty were full. Every, single one. I had friends who worked in various parts of the mall and one, Vic Trosky, helped a lot of people and was interviewed by the local paper. Sears had us back to work the very next day but most of the rest of the mall was closed for weeks.

[@jamiedale5070]

Over here in England, yes our malls are jam packed on 23 December but not at 8:30pm

[@distantgalaxymusic1447]

I worked at that Sears a few years after the crash.

[@manuelacosta9463]

Can't imagine the sheer shock and then trauma of surviving that inferno, especially with the suddenness while undergoing what's supposed to be festive shopping. RIP to the victims and strength to the survivors.

[@lifewuzonceezr]

My heart breaks for the mother whose child slipped away! 😢

[@osuuma6935]

I was a mall rat at Sun Valley for many years, and went there the day after this event. Shops were open, but the crash site was boarded up with a perimeter wall. The third floor of Macy's rug department had picture windows that overlooked the interior of the atrium where the crash occurred. Macy's entire third floor was boarded up as well, with only a path to the offices available. Because there were stores open, and because there was not much news coverage, I assumed that there was not as much damage/injury/death. The news did report that the plane broke into multiple pieces upon impact, and that is why you see a tail hanging over the exterior wall of the mall, yet the main wreckage was at the atrium. The atrium was 3 levels, with an open promenade on the second floor and a very high ceiling. Santa was located on the ground floor, next to the elevator in the center of the atrium, yet the boarded up area was to the north side, where a fountain was on the first floor and the second floor had an open area above the fountain. Repairs almost took a year to complete, the atrium area was re-made smaller, the fountain was removed, and the open floor above the fountain was filled in.

[@PaulBongiorno-v2l]

Fellow 80’s Sun Valley Mall rat as well. Though spent most of it at Aladdin’s Arcade. Occasionally dipping out for nearby Sbarro’s pizza.

[@saywhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat]

I'm from Concord, tho this happened a year before I was born. I don't live there now and haven't been to Sunvalley in YEARS but it will always be my mall. Outside of my Dad talking about this event occasionally, and sometimes it being referenced on the local news, I didn't grow up hearing about this at all. Thanks for making this video, it's sad how ahistorical our society can be

[@senorcul0]

This was incredible to watch. I’ve lived 20 minutes from Sunvalley and have visited it hundreds of times, yet not once heard of this disaster. Thank you for bringing up parts of our history that others would rather us forget.

[@rasherbilbo452]

I was there, second floor leaning over railing watching santa entertaining kids, where plane came through roof. Surreal.

[@LemonHead-sq5ws]

Don’t spoil it!!!!!

[@ToTheGAMES]

@@LemonHead-sq5ws have you thought about not reading the comments?

[@skelemama]

@@LemonHead-sq5ws ???? What??

[@redjulius33]

Thank you for covering this topic. There's another disaster that happened in Concord that gets little attention but was a significant event you should cover when you can; The Port Chicago Explosion

[@maryeckel9682]

That was an awful disaster

[@KyleRDent]

Oof, that wedding ring got me 😞

[@catcando1131]

I was already ‘that poor mom’ and then I was ‘that poor man.’ 😢

[@trentdawg2832]

Everyone was a victim, even the unscaved bystanders that just simply witnessed it happen….it probably changed them forever!!

[@TreyMcDonaldAnimator]

It's the one year old who passed that upsets me the most. God bless them all, but that child didn't even have a moment to embrace life like he should have.

[@WhoBeSilly]

Sucks to be them

[@FruityFruitbat]

@@WhoBeSillyYikes.

[@FoxSullivan]

Maybe because I am desensitized towards death due to PTSD, but I feel like the one-year-old's death is the least tragic one. Yes, they had a whole life ahead of them; but those are only "If"s. Whereas other folks that have had longer lives that far, their deaths will affect more people in general. Either way, it's an absolute tragedy, but I am writing this just in pure curiosity to know whether my opinion is valid or biased.

[@SpecialBlanket]

@@FoxSullivan I feel the same way. At least a one year-old basically didn't know what was happening and didn't have a lot of life expectations that had gone to nothing. It just got to live and be a happy baby for a year.

[@HelenBurns-y8c]

Or to enjoy any Christmas whatever. So terribly sad.

[@just_kos99]

OMG, the first victim you named.... was my sister's name before she got married. Creepy. It's sad that anyone died, but it could've been a LOT worse than 7! I really feel bad for the lady who went to find her son, only to have him be one of the victims :( Having lost my own son, I can identify somewhat.

[@somethingforsenro]

I'm sorry for your loss

[@gohawks3571]

Oh no! I'm so sorry 😔💔

[@Jrockilla137]

it could be worse

[@gohawks3571]

@@Jrockilla137 Worse than losing their son?!

[@LemonHead-sq5ws]

Be quite old lady I didn’t even know it was 7 yet!!!

[@Northern.Town.]

I spent a lot of time in Concord, CA, as a child. This must have happened just before my aunt and uncle moved there. I don't remember it but certainly remember the 1989 earthquake. In fact, I was in the Sunvalley Mall when I felt my first earthquake! It was funny to watch the native Californians just go about their business.

[@sophierobinson2738]

I was in Richmond 1989.

[@kimmer6]

I was in Loyalton up by Truckee doing a startup on a 20 Megawatt Westinghouse steam turbine generator at Sierra Pacific's lumbermill. They had steam up for the first time and I was in the control room overlooking the turbine bay. There was a rumble and shaking, and the boiler de aerator tank was banging away. I looked down pissed off thinking that someone ran the bridge crane into the spring dampers. But the crane was over the turbine, nobody nearby, and the crane switch pendant was swinging. We got to run the turbine for a bit but there were leaks elsewhere and we shut it down. 2 hours later at 7PM a 2nd shift guy found me in the basement under the turbine and told me to go home immediately. ''San Francisco was destroyed by a huge quake and the whole city is on fire''. The speed limit was 55 back then. I drove down Highway 80 at 110 mph. My home by Lafayette was fine but my wife and young son were scared. The power was out for hours and their flashlight went dead. That was October 17, 1989. By December, I built a whole house automatic power failure lighting system that ran off of 2 deep cycle batteries. To this day, the lights come on when the power goes out. My intuition says a big one is coming soon. We are due for one.

[@aardque]

I worked at the mall when the plane crashed and I was smoking a joint with my friend up the hill from University Ave in Berkley when Loma Prieta happened. I was actually looking right at the Bay Bridge but could not see a thing, we did see smoke start to come out of a building in Oakland. We just thought it was good pot at the time.

[@kimmer6]

@@aardque Where did time go?

[@jotchua5025]

I pass by Sunvalley near everyday to get to class, it's really sad how the mall has disintegrated in the years since COVID. Despite being so close, I hardly hear of anyone going to shop or hang out there anymore. There are dozens of planes that fly pretty low over the college on their way to and from. Earlier this year in January there was a small plane that crashed on the road right near Buchanan, a few hundred feet from the golf course there. It's always a shock to see something local like this pop up on my youtube feed, great video.

[@purplehair7224]

I was listening to the scanner about that. It was terrible to listen to.

[@strawavi]

Ikr the only time you see ppl at the mall is during Christmas. To be fair, the stores in there are mostly overpriced:/

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

I was working as a cashier at a gas station about half a mile down the road when it happened. It suddenly seemed like every fire truck and police car in the world was heading down Contra Costa Blvd to the mall. I could hear sirens everywhere. About 20 minutes later people started to come into the station and told me a plane had crashed into the mall.

[@trentdawg2832]

Chevron,shell,rotten robbie,or 76??

[@trentdawg2832]

@ ahh i see

[@ShanRenxin]

"Something crashed through the skylight," Oh no... "Buchanan airport was built---" NOOOOOO

[@jackielinde7568]

Except that the mall's proximity and position to the airport weren't factors in the crash. I don't think the person who wrote this bothered to look into the NTSB older database for the report. (Because they recently switched databases, and the older stuff is left on the legacy database.) Because this involved an aircraft and loss of life, the NTSB most certainly looked into it. Since we know the date and have the aircraft tail number (N1494G if I read that correctly, the third digit is badly burnt. None of the photos of intact aircraft are the aircraft involved.) The NTSB would have verified if the Instrument Landing System (ILS) was up and running, pulled ATC Recordings and Radar Telemetry from the airport systems, and interviewed the ATC on duty at the time. At that point, I don't know if the pilot would have been talking with either Approach or Tower. My guess at their ruling would be pilot error with fog as a contributing factor. There might be other factors, but that would require pulling the report.

[@folioio]

@@jackielinde7568 The video says exactly that: the NTSB investigated, and the location of the mall was not a factor.

[@darrensim295]

@@jackielinde7568except OP is not saying anything about the proximity of the airport, but is realising that what crashed through the skylight was a plane

[@trentdawg2832]

I remember a couple handfuls of years ago an airplane missing buchanan fields and actually landing on the freeway….. crazy

[@jackielinde7568]

@@trentdawg2832 The "freeway landings" happen far more than the General Aviation crowd likes to admit. There's one this month where a guy in Texas running a USGS Survey ran out of fuel and ended up ditching on a road on the downwind leg to the airport he started from. Juan Brown on the Blancolerio channel did a video about that one.

[@79SteelyMatt]

Your channel is amazing the fact when you name the people who sadly perished is very commendable and one of the reasons why I love your content You are not a shock and awe channel but a factual record of the known facts and aftermath

[@GremmPaltakin]

Santa fell to his death parachuting down to our local Mohawk Mall in Schenectady NY in the 80’s. You should do a video about it.

[@ConkerKing]

Yeah right....

[@dauntae24]

Only one body. Hard pass.

[@balthasargerard7246]

the event you're describing did not happen. a Santa had a heart attack at that mall in the 1980s. a Santa died from parachuting at an entirely different mall in the 1960s. dummy.

[@richardblayneamerican8149]

Terrible, but not really material for a "disaster" video. But, dam. What did parents tell their children who witnessed that? Probably that Santa "would be okay", I imagine.

[@princessmarlena1359]

Didn’t they have an episode of Married With Children where that happened to “Santa” when he was promoting the Lakeshore Mall?

[@SomeRPGFan]

I'm starting to think that things named "Concord" (or similar) are just inherently unlucky.

[@The-Host]

Concorde, Arlington, St. Petersburg. 3 ship/plane/city names I will never step aboard.

[@reaganjananto5467]

The ultra woke game Concord that was an epic million dollar disaster.

[@friedrichjunzt]

@@reaganjananto5467 and rightfully so!

[@Olliethelabradane]

We used to have a Concord mall here but it closed recently.

[@Tal-q3r]

grapes are unlucky? 😁

[@justgill_xoxo2361]

Thank you for giving the victims the respect of naming them. ❤

[@zepling999]

My mom was going to be there that day to buy my older brother a gift but when she was getting ready to go, her mom called and said she already had the gift. My mom also would have been also been on or near the part of 880 that collapsed during Loma Prieta in '89 if my brother hadn't gotten in trouble at school so she had to leave work earlier than usual. I guess she's lucky.

[@galechicago325]

Your brother is the lucky charm! Twice he saved your mom.

[@DawnKellyMedia]

They OPENED stores the next day??? That's some serious greed. People died.

[@skottyo]

How long should they have remained closed? Asking for a friend.

[@chickonasportbike598]

Life goes on and so does the stores bills and employees salaries. And we weren’t as soft as we are today.

[@distantgalaxymusic1447]

People have lives of their own. The mall is massive and only one section in Macy’s was affected. People today are just soft.

[@reneemason7915]

Yep..we had to be back to work the next day at taco bell! Crazy, huh,?

[@Terrilliser2024OZ]

The unaffected stores would have been fine to reopen.

[@dfabba9938]

Love your videos.... your explanation, the details, the insights, even the background music which is annoying or loud as on other channels.... thank you and well done

[@the-chillian]

1:20 is the wrong Concord, the one in North Carolina. Jefferson Davis was highly unlikely to have ever spent the night in Concord, California. It should be made clear that it wasn't really commercial operations that made Buchanan Field so busy. That's why its traffic is counted in "operations" rather than some more specific metric like commercial flights. While a few regional airlines did fly from this airport, most of its "operations" are general aviation flights like the one involved in this accident. It also included flights by law enforcement, rescue teams, etc. The first time I ever went to this mall was less than a year after the crash. I had moved to the SF Bay Area a few months earlier, and around Christmas I'd have been flying back home to see my family and wasn't paying attention to local news. So I didn't have a clue as to why a section of the place was all boarded over. And none of the friends I was with, many of whom lived in and around Concord, mentioned it at all.

[@timmccarthy9917]

Celebrating that Jefferson Davis visited your town is some Carolinas sh*t

[@HossBlacksilver]

Yeah, I had to replay that a second thinking, is that my hometown?

[@revcor632]

⁠@@timmccarthy9917 “celebrating visiting a town” tf you talking about... He was the president

[@Hitomichanchan25]

It’s so crazy to see a place you grew up with featured in one of these videos. I wasn’t alive when this happened but my high school is right down the street from it and my friends and I used to hang out there all the time. It’s weird to recognize the angles of photos and know where they’re taken in the mall. Thanks for covering this, very interesting!

[@trentdawg2832]

College park??

[@SeventhSwell]

Only the second time I've ever seen someone cover this story. I'm glad it's getting more attention now and not being forgotten forever. I grew up in Concord and this was the mall I spent so much time in. Some of my first jobs were in that mall. My aunt was actually there when the accident happened. I believe she was upstairs by Macy's. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt.

[@RizzenMurray]

Learned about this event from my father, who was in college at Cal State Heyward (now East Bay) at the time. He said two of his friends were EMTs who responded to this incident, and that one of them especially took more than two years to emotionally recover from the experience. What an awful tragedy.

[@lightningdemolition1964]

I grew up in walnut creek and was on my way home from school at uc davis when i drove past the mall that night. The first responder presence was massive and i couldnt imagine what had happened. I was shocked to read about it the next day. I spent a lot of time in that mall growing up.

[@Tracy-b9u]

Very good documentary. Thank you for adding the victims names, they should be honored and remembered. Just the facts, no re-enactments, etc. Very good job!

[@thecraftyhedonist2597]

My family and little baby me was there about a hour before the crash. It was almost like a urban legend growing up since there wasn't internet to easily look it up. Fun fact, this mall is about a ten minute drive from the Waterpark where those highschoolers clogged a slide, broke it, and a girl died from the fall

[@gerardduncan1040]

Fun fact?

[@trentdawg2832]

More like a 10minute walk…literally around the corner you can walk there faster than u can drive

[@thecraftyhedonist2597]

@@trentdawg2832 True. Plus we also had the freeway overpass like five minutes away where that bus of chorus kids drove over

[@thecraftyhedonist2597]

@@gerardduncan1040 for me, I suppose. It's more that at least three of his videos all occurred within a five mile radius from each other

[@jimbertlarot]

Thank you for posting this. I live next to Concord, California and was at Sun Valley Mall today. I was aware of this accident, but this video adds so much more detail. I will visit the mall again soon, but with a greater appreciation!

[@philipbanks2462]

Not sure if you covered it already but Concord Ca also had the largest loss of life on American soil attributed to WWII in the Port Chicago explosion.

[@weepingsheeps]

Thank you for sticking to real footage this time. I know one comment doesn’t mean much a difference but it’s definitely important to use artificial imagery with great discretion and clarity. I’ve loved this channel for a few years now :-)

[@thurayya8905]

This hits close to home. Since I was a teenager, large malls were where I went to shop, hang out, work, browse, eat, and socialize. I never thought of them in terms of disaster.

[@lightscameraimages]

i was one of the little kids there that day... we were on the way home in another city when we heard the news on the radio. my grandparents told me what happened where we just were and my first concern was santa whom id just taken a picture with. I wonder now as an adult if he made it out of there that day. i hope so .. i had to look this up a few years ago just to make sure my memory wasnt a dream .... cool to see it here. love your channel

[@AriesZodiac]

He escaped unharmed, although he was in the middle of the situation. There's mention of him around 9mins in.

[@yanyanjelly]

hey i started watching your videos about a couple months ago and i really appreciate your consistency in quality as well as the required nuance when talking about mass casualties/tragic events such as these! also really appreciate the closed captions on every video

[@humblebumble6590]

Concord seems like cursed name to me now. Plane, Ship, Game, City - all disasters

[@vSurfinBirdv]

The plane wasn't a disaster.

[@kyleashdown518]

Not to mention the Chrysler - that was horrible

[@skatemonk]

A student in my DVC Journalism class was caught in the fire, and died a few days later in hospital (RIP Nancy Walls). My Mom and grandma had visited the Mall earlier that day.

[@jake12466]

**died, not dies

[@skatemonk]

@@jake12466 Typo, but thank you for your pedantry.😆

[@ASMRGeographica]

I used to work at this mall! Fantastic job detailing this story.

[@vincedibona4687]

These stories are all terrific. In both ways. Thanks for keeping us informed of all these lesser-known disasters.

[@robbb7257]

On that night, me, my brother, and stepdad headed out to do last-minute Christmas shopping, and told my mom we were headed to Sun Valley. Once we got in the car, we decided that the mall would be super crowded and decided to go to Walnut Creek instead to shop. In the days before cellphones, we had no idea what was going on until we got in the car, headed home, and heard the radio reports. When we got home, my mom was in a panic, since she assumed we'd be at Sun Valley.

[@IAmPlaysWithSquirrel]

Watching this on the 39th anniversary of this incident. Hard to believe that a tragedy of this magnitude barely received any coverage. Also, parts of the mall reopened the next day, really??? Who would even show up to their shopping in the immediate aftermath of that, and with the plane still at the disaster site? How sick.

[@takenboat1]

I’ve been there probably 40 times and have lived 10 minutes away my whole life and never knew about this. Crazy stuff thanks for spreading awareness

[@EddieFoxxx]

I was born and raised in Contra Costa (lived in Martinez from 1999 to 2024), my mom was there when it happened, on the opposite side of the mall. Its so creepy because if you visit the mall now, theres zero evidence of the crash. No memorial, no plaque honoring victims, no nothing.

[@FallofArtemis]

thank you for talking about this! ive been to the mall a few times in recent years, and the impact is still to an extent visible in how the mall looks now

[@changkwangoh]

Does the mall still have its 70’s aesthetics?

[@FallofArtemis]

@ no, they had a few renovations over the years that updated/modernized the look of the place

[@turqoiseillinois9955]

Like what? The only thing impacting the mall is the fact that nobody goes there.

[@FallofArtemis]

@@turqoiseillinois9955 well for starters, the third floor of the macys where the plane hit is still no longer being used. and the area where the main damage was is now a seating area, which it seems to be dedicated to the victims

[@3umari]

what’s the impact? i go there?

[@UnpopularName]

Top quality episode, ranks high in just about any category you could apply to this channel, which already contains a lot of high quality. Great in terms of the storytelling and the facts of the story, for example the low death count during the busy shopping season. Huge respect to the emergency workers.

[@eloquentsarcasm]

I lived a few miles away from O'Hare airport back when the flight 191 disaster happened. I was a kid back then and didn't understand everything that was happening, but I can totally relate to how the people in the area of the mall must have felt. It's surreal, like watching a movie until the reality of it all sets in.

[@dalesimpson3936]

The FBO that the pilot ran was General Air Aviation I worked 4 Jim and was one of his students. Sadly, what wasn't stated in the documentary was that it was the pilots fault. He failed to execute the proper Missed approach during foggy conditions. He mistook the parking lot lights as beige part of the airport and decided to make a right turn to land on the opposite end of runway 19 right. His over familularity with the LDA 19 approach caused him to deviate from Instrument approach; this being the major cause.

[@MarkDavis-m8v]

Thank you for writing, this is why I read the comment sections, to find someone who really knew what happened. I remember reading a long time ago that it was a missed approach and a bad turn around, but there was nothing of that in the videl. Thanks for explaining!

[@mdturnerinoz]

I recall this tragedy as I was living in nearby (20 miles) Santa Clara, California, at the time. It was really awful.

[@timhall2304]

I was almost there when that happened, I was pulling into the parking area to get a present for my father and got a strange feeling that I should go home. I got home and turned on the television and saw the news talking about the plane crash into the mall. Dodged a bullet that day. It was a nice mall and my friends and I went there a lot growing up although the Willows mall up the road had more interesting stores and better architecture.

[@ericparry8850]

I was home on leave from the Marines. Was at Sun valley mall up until about 7 that evening doing last minute Xmas shopping Then when and had a beer and when I got home (my folks lived on Clayton way) my mom was pulling her hair out.. they had been watching the disaster on the news.. i had no idea. I had forgotten about this. Terrible.. Prayers out to those who suffered.

[@mikaross4671]

You always tell such detailed and respectful videos about the tragedies. This is so sad.. RIP to the victims of this accident. I cant imagine a normal day at the mall turning into this kind of hell.

[@jettrooperjp5142]

This is so surreal seeing this story. I go to DVC, and the mall is right across from the campus and me and my friend eat lunch there all the time. I’ve told them about this story before, and they’ve never heard of it before

[@SincerelyBela]

One of my favorite channels covering this makes me happy. I worked at the Vans in the mall for years and always heard about this. The mall itself has deteriorated and is a shell of what it was growing up. I also attend the neighboring collage and last semester, we went into lockdown as another plane crashed nearby the campus. I guess safety hasn’t improved on the airfield.

[@KebabMusicLtd]

Sad tragedy but I think it ridiculous to blame the fact on the location of the airport. When that airport was originally built, there were no buildings near to it. The town grew up around the airport and to a certain extent, because of it. The odds of something like this happening must be millions to one. There are many cities around the world built close to an airport, yet such fatalities remain quite rare. Also, an aircraft flying through the sky that suffers a calamity whereby it crashes, may hit the ground anywhere along its flight path. Its a lottery wherever that might be.

[@Wolfshead009]

Very common story. Many airports were built away from cities only to have them grow around the airports. Chicago's O'Hare is another example. People move in around it, then start complaining about it.

[@PaulBongiorno-v2l]

Don’t blame the airport, nor the mall’s location. I 100% blame the pilot.

[@Wolfshead009]

@@PaulBongiorno-v2l Typical. We have no idea what happened in the plane, but you go straight to blaming him.

[@TerryFarrah]

Most plane crashes occur close to takeoff or landing

[@AnonMedic]

The pilot was my uncle's boss. I grew up flying out of CCR. I was only 4 months old. But this story hits home.

[@blairf3070]

As ALWAYS great story, and as only you can narrate and present. One correction needed though - at 1:23, that photo is of downtown Concord North Carolina. Recognized the Historical Marker, those are all across my state.

[@Sammy-mp9xn]

Yep, live in N.C., noticed also.

[@HanaTheSloth]

I love your voice so much. I watch every new video but then at night i just put one of your playlists on and sleep. Your voice so relaxing ❤

[@lofthouse23]

The bystanders did what they could to help? That generally caught me off guard and just proved to me humanity isn't as bad as the media make it out to be. Sorry to the people who did die and their families.

[@rogerw-interested]

40 yrs ago, today? you have to wonder

[@BarnardsATL]

I was one of the bystanders who tried to help, and my memories of it are still very clear. I was 20 yrs old and a college sophomore that grew up nearby. My girlfriend at the time and I had parked on the east side of the mall and had just walked through the atrium area, past Santa into Macy's. We were about 15 feet into the store when there was a deafening boom, and the whole mall shook. Everyone instinctively ducked, and many screamed. The lights went out and then a bright red glow came from the atrium as we saw a giant fireball rolling down from above. Smoke filled the air and water started raining down from sprinklers going off. I went out into the atrium to see if I could help anyone. There were piles of burning items strewn about. There were others coming to help as well, all of us getting soaked. I didn't see anyone down or trapped, just one poor Asian woman who was burned and dazed, looking for her son. We guided her to Macy's and made our way out to the west parking lot where we turned her over to emergency responders. A Macy's employee (who I knew from high school) thankfully handed wool blankets to us as we left, which we appreciated as we were sopping wet and shivering. My GF and I had to walk around the outside of the mall to get back to her car on the east side lot. I was assuming it had been a bomb in Santa's village until we saw the tail of the plane protruding from the roof along the east side edge. With the number of people there and the devastation I saw & walked through, I am amazed that only 4 people in the mall were killed.

[@pyrotechnick420]

Hey have you done a video on the Port Chicago explosion yet I can't remember. That disaster occurred only a mile or two away from the Sunvalley Mall. I think something like almost 300 munitions loaders died in the explosion which was the deadliest home front disaster of WWII

[@3umari]

yes! thats would make a great video.

[@Polymathically]

I grew up in the Bay Area during that era, and went to Sunvalley Mall pretty frequently. It's so wild seeing such a familiar place from my childhood in old photos. It was _the_ place to go during the holidays. Thank you for covering this event!

[@cooperolm9687]

thank you for continuing to use real photographs and documents as the images illustrating these stories, plus adding text that provides context. It has been sad seeing other creators I liked making this style of video switch to AI imagery, I definitely feel it hurts their educational value.

[@PVTShadow8492]

As a Concord native, I grew up hearing stories about how a plane hit the Sunvalley mall. My parents talked about it all the time, But as they weren’t, there never knew any details, except that they knew people who were there. Hearing about it first hand on this channel is very intriguing and terrifying at the same time.

[@joansemenec1387]

I was 4 when this happened. I feel so bad for those who were injured as well as those who lost their lives and a relative due to this incident. I can't imagine going through something like this. Hugs and prayers to those who are still contending with their injuries from this incident and dealing with the loss of their loved one(s).

[@icarusbinns3156]

“It was just a matter of time” is one of the scariest sentences to be uttered after any disaster. That means at least someone, or many someones, saw that such a thing would happen. Not just possible, but a definite thing. That’s so scary! A plane coming through the skylight is way more horrific than heavy snow or golfball-sized hail!

[@Larry_Alvarez]

Anyone who grew up in the county knows about SunValley Mall, but i never knew it had some dark history within that shopping mall. I only recently knew about it, and it shocked me. I did hear that it was extremely foggy that night, which is common over here, especially when you're close by the Suisun Bay. Most people assumed that pilot thought the lights were the runway and crash landed onto a roof, since he was flying low at the moment

[@kimmer6]

I lived 2 miles away by Grayson and Taylor. We hear a plane flying overhead that night. The visibility on my street was 200 feet due to heavy fog. I told my pilot brother that you have to be really stupid to fly on a night like this. He said it wasn't such a big thing. A few minutes later, my wife called in a panic saying that a terrorist bomb went off. She worked at Macy's and was in the 3rd floor store room about 20 feet from the hole in the roof. A wall separated her from the blast. We drove like maniacs to meet her in the Carlos Murphy's parking lot. We then went to the East mall parking lot and saw the tail of the plane on the roof. She was pregnant with my son who is now 38.

[@PaulBongiorno-v2l]

Concord guy here. While your brother pilot’s correct, this incident was 100% pilot error.

[@c-puff]

Small thing but I genuinely enjoy how you always use the same track for your background music. It gives your channel a sort of brand in a way. I don't know how else to explain it. I just always know what to expect audible with your videos both with your narration as well as the music and so despite the grissly subject matter, it's a strange comforting familiarity

[@aileencastaneda3724]

Two days before Christmas I feel for the families that were affected by this. RIP 🕊️

[@danifidelibus1980]

This is my hometown's mall, it's crazy to see a place I've grown up as the topic of a Fascinating Horror video. When I was in sixth grade, I went there for a friend's birthday party (the times were different back in the day), and I remember someone pointing at the ceiling and telling us that a plane had crashed there years before. Crazy full circle moment, hearing about this again.

[@jpbaley2016]

9:44 Pareidolia alert. It’s almost as if a face is staring back at you through the gap caused by the roof collapse. It’s disconcerting.

[@maryeckel9682]

Yikes 😳

[@MoreEffinCowbell]

Woah! You're right! It took me a second to see it but, that's crazy! It really looks like a person is peering out of the hole in the roof! What a trip. 😧🤯

[@sjenny5891]

It was creepy. Glad I'm not the only one that saw it.

[@trentdawg2832]

The beast from beauty and the beast

[@ni-dirus]

The transitions in storytelling are always impressive. "This was a normal day, until something fell through the skylights of the mall. [Beat] This airfield wasn't finished by the time WWII started..." The storytelling knows how to give you an upset stomach and anticipation.

[@satyne1]

One of my favourite things to do on a Tuesday... watch FH while having my lunch. Thank you for another great installment.

[@theresafisher4545]

Also Tasting History. Two have to watch on Tuesday. 🙂

[@roxannepearls901]

Thank you again for another informative and compassionately presented video.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@crispysilicon]

There was a popular skating ring as well. I lived a few blocks away on Stugun. Thanks for the video, it's mostly lost history now.

[@4FYTfa8EjYHNXjChe8xs7xmC5pNEtz]

Yes, there was a big skating rink on the first floor. It was a great skating rink. I took an ice skating class for P.E. class there in my junior year of high school.

[@jims4912]

And broom ball on the ice 10pm-12 but that was not a event on the schedule even though we were there every Friday and Saturday night to run around on the ice with are tennis shoes chasing a ball, kinda like hockey We used brooms with a lot of duct tape on the end

[@trentdawg2832]

I remember that ice rink, i wanna say it was by the sears side where copelands sports was / the bowling alley/arcade today……if i recall…i could be wrong and mistaken that spot for the movie theatre…..but i definitely remember the skating rink

[@richardmcgowan1651]

You will never recover from standing in the mall seeing people going about their business. To suddenly being on fire or seeing people on fire and the horrors of trying to help people. That is going to stay with you forever with the utter and sudden shock of it all.

[@j.b.macadam6516]

I was just a couple of blocks away, playing games in a friend's garage with my buddies, when we heard a light plane overhead, engine struggling. A couple of minutes later, the sirens began wailing and we knew something was wrong. I used to go to that mall a couple of times a week, and still go there when I return to visit my Family. Great place with a tragic history.

[@silverfishstix5099]

The image at 1:21 is the wrong Concord lol. It is confusing, considering the US has like 4 different cities named Concord.

[@striderhanzo]

I grew up in the area and its kinda wild for a person who is not even from the area, let alone the country, is talking about this. But I can say, I am grateful. Most of the people I was around, do not have all of this historical data to share. Let alone, having stories in relation to the situation. Thank you very much for putting this together.

[@arifhossain9751]

So the report says it was either an object striking the plane, or pilot error. It doesn't feel right. The pilot was highly experienced, though i guess that doesn't prevent momentary lapses in control. The "object" theory is what's more curious. Birds hit planes all the time and rarely lead to crashes. If it wasn't a bird, then what else could it be? Something dense enough to punch through steel, but somehow hundreds of feet in the air? I wish there were more answers as to why a perfectly good plane flown by an experienced pilot would drop out of the sky.

[@Randomly_Browsing]

@@arifhossain9751 how about antenna?

[@arifhossain9751]

@Randomly_Browsing If the planners were being grilled for mildly tall buildings being in the area, no way they would be allowed to put antennas that high near an airport.

[@Randomly_Browsing]

@arifhossain9751 how about lightning rod?

[@michaelp2952]

He was elderly probably stoked out

[@theresafisher4545]

@@michaelp2952could be.