Here's the control tower audio from Virginia Beach F/A-18 Hornet crash last year

On Apr. 6, 2012, a U.S. Navy F/A-18D Hornet crashed into Mayfair Mews Apartments off of Fleming Drive, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA.

Both pilots ejected safely and, fortunately, no one was killed in the accident.

Photos of “Roman 38”, the crashed Hornet (Bu.No. 163452/AD-410), were published by U.S. and foreign media outlets and WTKR Television, on Nov. 26, 2012 released the first footage of the doomed plane slamming into a Virginia Beach apartment complex.

Now, The Virginian-Pilot has obtained more than four hours of audio recordings from the air traffic control tower at Oceana Naval Air Station from April 6, 2012 and has made them available on Youtube.

The clip blends chatter from multiple channels. Even if they obviously don’t give a clue of what was happening aboard “Roman 38”, the recordings are interesting because they gives a clear idea of how the other traffic and Ocean Tower reacted to the emergency, moments immediately before and after the doomed plane crashed into the ground.

H/T to William Garcia for the heads-up

About David Cenciotti

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.