Jones’ family members barely escaped when the twin-engine Cessna slammed into their bedrooms on the morning of Feb. 17, 2010. Since then, Jones has struggled while others in her Beech Street neighborhood have been able to recover.
When a lawsuit that settled in July 2013 did not give Jones enough money to rebuild, Maryan Ackley, a longtime friend and Atherton resident, started to raise funds to rebuild Jones’ home.
Now the project, which began in November, is nearly completed. This past Monday, Ebcon Corporation construction workers were putting the finishing touches on the neat, beige-and-white home.
“I’ve known Lisa since our kids were in kindergarten together 12 years ago,” Ackley said. “Our kids were friends, and we were friends. When the accident first happened, I stayed close to Lisa. When it became apparent that the settlement wouldn’t be enough, I reached out to the Sacred Heart Schools community” for help.
Pacific Peninsula Group, a real-estate development firm cofounded by Ackley’s husband, Stephen, became a corporate sponsor for the effort, which tapped into subcontractors who supplied in-kind donations.
Dollinger Properties executive David Dollinger put up a $125,000 matching grant, which gave impetus to the community fundraising, according to Ackley.
The nonprofit Rebuilding Together Peninsula, with whom Ackley has been active for many years, agreed to get involved. Scads of local businesses and contractors also donated money, materials and time.
“It really was a labor of love for a lot of people,” Ackley said.
Chalk messages on the pavement in front of Jones’ home this week attest to that affection.
“Lisa, You are loved!” student volunteers wrote. The students added words of encouragement at the driveway: “Audacity; Safety; Joy; Peace; Strength; Courage; Hope; Grace; Happiness: Community; Security; Care” — words that could describe Jones.
Ackley said she first understood Jones’ impact on her community when she visited Jones’ day care center years ago.
“She did such amazing work. She really provided very high-quality early education. She provided such a needed service in her neighborhood,” Ackley said.
But it all changed when the plane struck. Three Tesla employees — Brian Finn, Andrew Ingram and pilot Douglas Bourn — died in the accident, which was caused by pilot error, National Transportation Safety Board investigators determined. When Jones’ family fled the burning home, they left everything behind. The home was boarded up and red tagged.
Ackley said students helped the family clean out their belongings last November before demolition. Construction began in April.
The project went far beyond the usual scope of Rebuilding Together’s work, said Cari Chen, associate director of the Redwood City-based nonprofit. Workers replaced exterior walls, reframed the home and redid the entire roof. They replaced windows and doors and added new drywall, new electrical wiring and plumbing and fire sprinklers.
Volunteers showed up from trade unions; Menlo Park Presbyterian Church; Young Neighbors in Action Youth Ministry in Gig Harbor, Washington; the Atherton Sacred Heart Community; and Joan of Arc Parish in San Ramon.
When the volunteers first came, project Superintendent Clark Schoening of Ebcon Construction said he wasn’t sure how the project could be coordinated.
“But the kids really gave it their all. They gave up their summer vacations to do this. It took a lot of coordination to make this thing work,” he said.
For her part, Jones is ready to move on. She doesn’t want to do any more interviews after four years in the spotlight and being the subject, at times, of media misinformation. But Chen said Jones can’t wait to settle into her home. Sometimes, she’ll come and sit in her living room and just take it all in.
“Before November, she didn’t feel she could be in there. But when she saw the walls go up and the windows, she got really excited. She’s seen it all come together,” Chen said.
Once Jones is settled back in, Rebuilding Together Peninsula, Ackley and the volunteers will begin the second phase to restore Jones’ life. They’ll raise funds to repair the day care center playhouse and replace the playground equipment. At a minimum, they must raise $70,000, Ackley said.
Chen said they won’t leave until they’ve given Jones back everything she lost — her home and her livelihood.
Anyone wishing to help complete the playground and center can send donations to The Jones Fund, c/o Rebuilding Together Peninsula, 841 Kaynyne St., Redwood City, CA 94063.
- Story and Photo: http://www.paloaltoonline.com
A chalk message which reads "Lisa you are loved!" is written on the sidewalk in front of Lisa Jones' recently rebuilt house in East Palo Alto.
- Ground Control Audio (WMA, 43.28 MB)
- Local Control Audio (WMA, 43.28 MB)
(As always, If You Assume That Any Given Plane Crash is Due to Pilot Error, You’ll Probably Be Right.)
Here’s an article about the new NTSB report.
Does it make sense to commute to Los Angeles for work, assuming you had a pilot’s license and an airplane? I don’t know.
Does it make sense to listen to the advice of your air traffic controller concerning the advisability of taking off into heavy fog, even if you don’t have to? Yes it does.
Is there a reason why pilots are told to turn over the Bay after takeoff? Yes there is.
Oh well.
Here’s what people down Palo Alto Way are saying.
And here‘s the “chilling recording” from a SpotShotter tower. (It’s about what you’d expect, with crashing noises and the yelling of the day care center kids who saw the crash.)
Story and Photo: http://sfcitizen.com
Why did Doug Bourn (the pilot) not execute the procedure as planned? Was he incapacitated? Was he severely disoriented? Did someone else other than him manipulate the controls or prevent him from doing so?
To those who said he took off despite the tower warning him not to do so, this simply wasn’t the case. When the controller said, “I cannot clear you for takeoff because I don’t have visibility on the runway, so ah, the release is all yours and it’s at your own risk sir.”, he was not warning the pilot not to take off. He was warning the pilot he could not confirm that the runway was in sight (by the controller), and the pilot would be responsible for ensuring the runway was clear. This is standard FAA phraseology. This is a common situation with fog that is close to the ground since the controller is quite high off the ground and some distance away from the runway.
What I will add to the story is that he had flown that departure dozens of times, and many times in conditions such as were the case that morning. I personally have flown that departure as well, and have even flown it in that aircraft with Doug at the controls. The point is, this is a procedure the pilot knew like the proverbial back of his hand.
Story and Photo: http://eesmog.com
Doug Bourn
This undated photo provided by Tesla Motors on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010 shows pilot Doug Bourn, 56, a senior electrical engineer and a five-year employee of the company. Bourn and two other colleagues were killed on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, after the twin-engine Cessna 310 they were on crashed in East Palo Alto, Calif.
(AP Photo/Tesla Motors)
(AP Photo/Tesla Motors)
This undated photo provided by Tesla Motors on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010 shows Andrew Ingram, 31, an electrical engineer and a two-and-a-half-year employee of the company. Ingram and two other colleagues were killed on Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, after the twin-engine Cessna 310 they were on crashed in East Palo Alto, Calif.
(AP Photo/Tesla Motors)
This undated photo provided by Tesla Motors on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010
shows Brian Finn 42, a senior interactive electronics manager of the
company. Finn and two other colleagues were killed on Wednesday, Feb.
17, 2010, after the twin-engine Cessna 310 they were on crashed in East
Palo Alto, Calif.
(AP Photo/Tesla Motors)
- Ground Control Audio (WMA, 43.28 MB)
- Local Control Audio (WMA, 43.28 MB)
NTSB Identification: WPR10FA136
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, February 17, 2010 in Palo Alto, CA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 11/22/2011
Aircraft: CESSNA 310R, registration: N5225J
Injuries: 3 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot departed the airport in near-zero visibility instrument meteorological conditions, and shortly after takeoff, struck a power pole and power lines before impacting terrain. Review of recorded air traffic control tower (ATCT) transmissions revealed that the pilot was initially given his instrument flight rules (IFR) clearance to turn right to a heading of 060 degrees and climb to 3,000 feet. Shortly after verifying his IFR clearance, the pilot received his IFR release from the ATCT controller and was informed that the runway was not visible to the controller. The controller further informed the pilot that takeoff was at his own risk. Shortly after, the controller notified the pilot that he had two minutes for his IFR release, before it expired. The pilot stated that he did not hear a "cleared for takeoff" instruction from the controller. The controller responded that he could not clear the pilot for takeoff, due to not having the runway environment in sight and that "the release is all yours and it's at your own risk sir." The pilot acknowledged the transmission and proceeded to take off. One witness, who was adjacent to the accident site, reported that she observed an airplane “suddenly appear from the fog” left of her position. The witness stated that she continued to watch the airplane fly in a level or slightly nose up attitude until it impacted power lines.
Accident site evidence was indicative of a level impact with a power pole about 50 feet above ground level (agl) and at a high airspeed. All major structural components of the airplane were located within the wreckage debris path. Examination of the airframe, engines and propellers disclosed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomaly. Weather conditions reported five minutes prior to the accident were wind variable at 5 knots, visibility 1/8th mile, fog, and vertical visibility of 100 feet agl. Weather conditions recorded by the ATCT 11 minutes after the time of the accident were visibility 1/16th mile, fog, and a vertical visibility of 100 feet agl.
Local law enforcement provided recordings from a sound recording system, which captured the accident sequence. The recordings were coupled with airport surveillance radar to interpolate a flightpath for the airplane. The interpolated flightpath indicated an approximate 45-degree left turn shortly after departure to the area of initial impact with the power pole and power lines. A sound spectrum study determined both engines were operating near full power.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s failure follow the standard instrument departure as instructed, and his failure to attain a sufficient altitude to maintain clearance from power lines during takeoff in instrument meteorological conditions.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators look over engine, propeller, and wing wreckage Thursday, Feb. 18, 2010, in East Palo Alto, Calif. Federal investigators are examining the site of a twin-engine Cessna 310 that crashed after taking off from a nearby airport shrouded in fog into a Silicon Valley neighborhood yesterday, killing three employees of electric car maker Tesla Motors.
(AP Photo/Ben Margot)
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