An anti-sex trafficking operation carried out by law enforcement agencies in San Diego, Chula Vista and National City earlier this month resulted in 10 arrests and the recovery of 19 alleged trafficking victims, it was announced Tuesday.

Operation Home for the Holidays was conducted over a three-day period and involved undercover officers posing as sex buyers in order to encounter potential traffickers and trafficking victims.

Those arrested during the operation include four men charged with pimping, pandering and violating a protective order, who face anywhere between six and 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office. Six others were issued misdemeanor citations for allegedly attempting to purchase sex.

The 19 recovered individuals were offered support services, which the DA’s Office said will “help them escape and heal from exploitation and human trafficking.”

Operation Home for the Holidays is an annual initiative conducted by the multi-agency San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement that the operation “is a key part of our efforts to keep our communities safe for the holidays and all year round.”

Similar operations are conducted throughout the year in San Diego County, including an annual operation held during Comic-Con weekend that resulted in 13 arrests and 10 victims recovered this year, and an operation conducted last month in National City and southern San Diego that led to the rescues of two minors.

“The ugly truth is that sex trafficking remains a lucrative criminal industry fueled by demand that generating over $810 million a year in San Diego County,” San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said.

“I’m proud of our work with the San Diego Regional Human Trafficking Task Force, my office’s Sex Crimes and Human Trafficking Division and all our partners that work around the clock to recover victims as young as 12. Together they hold human traffickers and criminal buyers accountable for their crimes. The ongoing efforts of the task force demonstrate that law enforcement will not tolerate this modern-day slavery of vulnerable victims who are bought and sold like a slice of pizza.”

Officials asked that anyone who is or knows someone being coerced or forced to engage in sexual activity or labor call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to access help.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — A Navy jet that crashed into San Diego Bay within striking distance of homes, hotels, and restaurants had climbed to about 8,000 feet in the air with no one on board after its pilots ejected following a failed landing in February, Team 10 has learned.

And now documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request from the recently completed investigation into the accident are shedding new light on the chaotic moments leading up to the crash of the $67 million EA-18G Growler.

They reveal concerns about runway conditions, a fuel leak midair, and a warning from air traffic control that created confusion in the cockpit.

According to the records, the pilot felt something was wrong with his brakes moments before the mishap.

On the day of the accident, the pilot and the electronic warfare officer in the backseat had to get into a spare jet due to a fuel leak.
The crew took off from North Island and joined a tanker to refuel midair. They had a “minor leak from the basket” and decided to return to base rather than risking being more than 500 miles off the coast.

As they prepared their descent, the crew was told there was water on the runway at North Island.

The pilot landed but was up against tailwinds and higher-than-normal speeds. He told investigators, “I knew I would have to get on the brakes a bit more.”

He said as he applied them, he noticed the brakes felt “mushy or at least a bit different than normal.”

U.S. Navy

Fearing the jet wouldn’t stop in time, the pilot started a go-around maneuver. Then a tower controller warned, “Not enough runway.”

“This was said in a very concerned voice, which caused some confusion and concern,” the pilot said.

‘Eject! Eject! Eject!’

Retired Air Force accident investigator Rich Martindell said he was surprised the air traffic controller made that warning and thought it was inappropriate.

“The tower wasn’t in a position to really know the aircraft’s speed and what the whole situation was,” he said in an interview.

Martindell, who has flown the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet, a similar aircraft that lacks the Growler’s electronic warfare gear, said the controller couldn’t have known how much runway was left.

“It clouded the issue and caused the crew to have more doubt about the situation.”

The pilot told an investigator moments after having issues with the brakes, “It felt like the jet was not going flying and the water was approaching, so I called for ejection with ‘EJECT, EJECT, EJECT’ and then we pulled the handles,” his witness statement shows.

Jack Fischetti

The crew safely parachuted into San Diego Bay and were rescued by a fishing boat.

The jet continued to climb to roughly 8,000 feet before dropping for over a minute and crashing into San Diego Bay near Shelter Island, the Navy investigation found.

“It looks like what it did is stalled. So, it got nose high, ran out of airspeed, came back around, and then the video we see of it going into the water, nose first, just all happened after the ejection,” said Martindell.

Amol Brown/Team 10

The Growler’s chaotic drop from the sky was captured on a resident’s doorbell and nearby surveillance cameras, which showed it nose-diving into the bay.

“If this aircraft had continued on even a second more, it could have hit Shelter Island or flown into a populated neighborhood in Point Loma — very, very close to a tragedy,” retired U.S. Marine Corps Col. Steve Ganyard told ABC News after the crash.

Navy says human error, weather to blame

After Team 10 obtained the documents, the Navy confirmed in October that it had finished the investigation into the mishap and ruled out mechanical failure.

Instead, investigators determined the crash was caused by human error exacerbated by a combination of factors, including adverse weather.

“The aircraft was unable to safely stop on the runway due to wet runway conditions and landing with a tailwind. The investigation determined that the pilot should have instead executed maximum braking techniques,” said Navy Cmdr. Amelia Umayam, a spokesperson for Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

The Navy spent weeks recovering debris from the water and said roughly 85% of the aircraft was recovered including significant debris.

“The U.S. Navy has well-established and rigorous programs for crew resource management, adherence to training rules, professionalism and airmanship,” Umayam wrote in a prepared statement.

“In the days and weeks that followed the crash, leadership across the enterprise reinforced to all crews that strict adherence to these programs is critical to safe and effective flight operations.”
 
Martindell still believes the air traffic controller’s warning was a contributing factor in the mishap and may have altered the pilot’s decision-making in the final moments before the ejection.

“He may have made a different decision I’m sure that that call had some influence on his decision to call for the ejection.”

Team 10 Investigative Reporter Austin Grabish covers military investigations, the Medical Board of California and the U.S.-Mexico border. If you have a story for Austin to investigate, email austin.grabish@10news.com