San Diego Marks 48th Anniversary of PSA Flight 182 Crash That Killed 144 San Diego marks the 48th anniversary of the PSA Flight 182 mid-air collision over North Park, honoring the 144 people killed on September 25, 1978. San Diego residents gathered on Friday, September 25, 2026, at the corner of Dwight and Nile Streets in North Park to mark the 48th anniversary of the PSA Flight 182 mid-air collision, a 1978 disaster that killed 144 people. The ceremony, described as a celebration of life, honored the victims and drew family members, friends and neighbors to the site beneath the flight path where the tragedy unfolded. The commemorative event focused on the 144 people who died on September 25, 1978, when a PSA Boeing 727 jet and a small Cessna private plane collided over North Park. Everyone aboard the PSA jet was killed, along with the two people on the Cessna and seven people on the ground.During the observance, all names of the victims were written in chalk on the sidewalk at the intersection, turning the pavement into a memorial list that passersby could read. Laura Crivello of Santee, who was a PSA flight attendant in 1978, used chalk to write PSA 182 Never Forget on the sidewalk at the corner of Dwight and Nile Streets.Judy Chadderdon of Los Angeles placed a rose and a sunflower on the name of Kirk Smith, a close family friend, during the ceremony. Sucheta Katakkar of Kensington also attended the 48th anniversary and celebration of life, joining other residents from across the region.Family, friends and residents attend the ceremony each year at the corner of Dwight and Nile Streets, the same location used for the 2026 gathering. This year the event fell on Friday, September 25, 2026, in San Diego, California.The chalk writing of the victims names gave the anniversary a personal and visible form, allowing those who came to see each name and pause before it. The tribute extended beyond the immediate families to include neighbors and others who wanted to remember the lives lost in 1978.For Crivello, a former PSA flight attendant, the act of writing the message connected her own history with the airline to the public remembrance. Her chalk inscription, PSA 182 Never Forget, summarized the purpose of the gathering.The 48th anniversary drew attendees from Santee, Los Angeles and Kensington, among other places, reflecting the lasting reach of the tragedy. The ceremony combined remembrance with a celebration of life, as organizers and participants honored the 144 victims.Freelance photographer Howard Lipin captured the event for The San Diego Union-Tribune, documenting the chalk names, the flowers placed on individual memorials and the gathering at the North Park corner. His photographs recorded both the solemnity of the occasion and the community ties that bring people back to the site.The mid-air collision remains one of the deadliest aviation accidents connected to San Diego, and its memory is kept alive each year at the North Park intersection. The September 25 date is central to the annual commemoration, which returned in 2026 for its 48th observance.As the anniversary ended, the chalk names remained on the sidewalk at Dwight and Nile Streets, a temporary memorial to the 144 people killed when PSA Flight 182 and the Cessna collided over North Park on September 25, 1978.