Flyover Proves Shattering Experience

For Michael Swingler, this weekend’s El Toro Air Show arrived a little early--and in his living room.

Working on a school paper Friday at his Nellie Gail Ranch home, the 18-year-old art student heard the roar of low-flying jets, felt the earth rumble as they passed and then was rocked by “an explosion” that shattered a large overhead skylight and sent shards of glass everywhere, he said.

“I thought it was a bomb,” Swingler said. “We tried looking around for pieces of something that might have fallen off the aircraft, but we couldn’t find anything.”

Military officials said they had no knowledge of damage to any aircraft or other homes and speculated that the broken skylight may have occurred because of the sound concussion caused by the jets. Local police departments said they had not received any complaints of damage.

A military spokesman said it is possible that the flight patterns of jets from the air show may extend over some residential areas in Laguna Hills.

“The only thing I’ve heard that has happened was a lot of car alarms were going off when the planes went by,” said Marine Maj. John Hill.

At the Swingler household, however, the destruction was apparent. Chunks of glass from two 3-foot-by-5-foot panes were scattered throughout the sprawling two-story home, wooden railings were gashed and the carpets soiled. The panes were located near the front entrance to the house 27 feet above the floor.

“(Glass) is down the hallway, in the dining room, in the living room, all over the place,” said Swingler, who added that glass continued falling for hours afterward.

Swingler’s father, David, 42, said he felt fortunate that his son wasn’t injured but was upset that the house was damaged at a time when he is trying to sell it.

“It was a major stroke of miraculous luck that my little children weren’t here,” said the single father of eight, who had taken his younger children with him on a couple of errands. “They often play in that area right under the skylights. They would have been killed . . . sliced to ribbons.”

Because of the damage, the family moved out of the house, on Empty Saddle Drive, to spend the night at a friend’s house. “It’s going to take two weeks to clean it up and fix it,” said David Swingler.

“It couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” he added. “I was going to show the house (to prospective buyers) this weekend.”

Marine Master Sgt. Jake Rodrigues said a report on the incident will be forwarded to the Marine Corps legal staff, who will decide whether to make reparations. He suggested that in the meantime the family have their insurance company make repairs.

David Swingler said he hopes to fix the damage quickly and put the incident behind him.

“I love a good air show,” he said. “But it hit this home in real bad way.”