Originally Posted by
aterpster
El Toro was not designed to be a jet transport airbase. I always felt that crew got sucked in. Had they had competent support, they would have departed to the south.
That tragic accident was one of the arguments against converting El Toro into a "major international airport."
Very interesting - many thanks for the info,
Arriving or departing into LAX (coming in from the UK) we always know we usually land into the sunset (often amazing) and take off straight out over the sea and then turn back.
Common SA kicks in even as a pax.
Not sure iirc if I have ever taken off the other way since 1982
I recall flying at night to Palm Springs a few times on a small commuter turboprop (yuk) and note their departure profile and the staged climb to get over the mountains before following down the valley to PS