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San Francisco crash Boeing 'tried to abort landing' San Francisco crash Boeing 'tried to abort landing'
(about 3 hours later)
The Boeing 777 that crash-landed at San Francisco airport was "significantly below" its target speed near the runway and the pilot tried to abort the landing, US investigators say. Pilots of the plane that crashed at San Francisco airport on Saturday tried to abort the landing seconds before touching down, US investigators say.
The pilot was flying into San Francisco for the first time at the controls of a 777, Asiana Airlines says. Initial inquiries suggested the Asiana plane was flying "significantly below" its target speed on approach.
The flight from Seoul with 307 people fell short of the runway on Saturday, killing two and injuring dozens. And the Korean airline revealed that the pilot was landing a Boeing 777 at San Francisco for the first time.
The aircraft apparently hit a sea wall, ripping off its tail. Two Chinese teenagers died and more than 180 people were injured when the plane hit the seawall.
Passengers and crew escaped down emergency slides as it burst into flames. Sixty of the passengers on board the flight from Seoul, including the two girls who died, were Chinese schoolchildren on their way to summer camp.
Asiana confirmed that two female Chinese teenagers died in the crash. They had been seated at the back of the aircraft. Chinese state media named the two as Ye Mengyuan, 16, and Wang Linjia, 17, who were classmates at a school in eastern Zhejiang Province.
They are believed to be the first-ever fatalities in a Boeing 777 crash. Both girls were pronounced dead at the airport, but US investigators said one of them might have died after being run over by an emergency vehicle.
San Francisco's coroner is currently trying to establish whether one of the two fatalities occurred after a passenger was run over by an emergency vehicle rushing to the scene of the crash. Their families, as well as relatives of the injured, are travelling to San Francisco.
'Everything is on the table' More than 30 people remained in hospital late on Sunday.
At a news conference on Sunday, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Deborah Hersman said aircraft speed was below the planned 137 knots (158mph; 254km/h) as it approached the runway. Medical officials said eight were listed in critical condition, including two with paralysis from spinal injuries.
Citing information both from the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, she said there was a call to increase the speed about two seconds before the impact. Asiana said 141 of the 291 passengers were Chinese, 77 were Korean and 61 were Americans.
The pilot then requested to abort the landing and "go around", Ms Hersman added. 'Standard practice'
"We have to take another look at the raw data and corroborate it with radar and air traffic information to make sure we have a very precise speed. At a news conference on Sunday, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Deborah Hersman said the aircraft's speed was below the planned 137 knots (158mph; 254km/h) as it approached the runway.
"But again, we are not talking about a few knots here or there. We're talking about a significant amount of speed below 137," she said. "We are not talking about a few knots here or there. We're talking about a significant amount of speed below 137," she said.
Asked about possible reasons for this, Ms Hersman stressed that "everything is on the table" and "it is too early to rule anything out". She said the pilots had tried to speed up, before trying to abort the landing less than two seconds before touching down.
It has now emerged that although the pilot who was at the controls had nearly 10,000 flying hours - only 43 hours of those were on a Boeing 777. Ms Hersman stressed that it was too early to speculate on precise causes for the accident.
Asiana Airlines said that Lee Kang-kook was assisted by another pilot who had more experience flying that type of aircraft. The airline said mechanical failure did not appear to have been a factor.
Although he had flown into San Francisco 29 times at the controls of other types of aircraft, this was the first time he was doing so at the controls of a Boeing 777. Late on Sunday, Asiana released more details about the pilot, Lee Kang-kuk.
In a separate development, US officials confirmed that a navigation system helping pilots make safe descents was turned off for maintenance at San Francisco airport. They said he had only 43 flying hours in a Boeing 777, and was assisted by another more experienced pilot as he landed the aircraft.
The Glide Path is used for landings in bad weather conditions; however, it was clear and sunny when the Asiana Airlines aircraft crashed on Saturday. The airline insisted such in-flight supervision was standard practice within the aviation industry.
Debris on runway Meanwhile, US officials confirmed that a navigation system helping pilots make safe descents had been turned off for maintenance since June.
The twin-engine Boeing 777 has a good safety record for long-haul and is used by many major carriers. The Glide Path is used for landings in bad weather conditions; however, it was clear and sunny when the Asiana Airlines aircraft crashed.
'Chaos, disbelief'
The Boeing 777 has a good safety record, and this is thought to be the first fatal crash.
The only previous notable crash occurred when a British Airways plane landed short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport in 2008.The only previous notable crash occurred when a British Airways plane landed short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport in 2008.
Five people are in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, hospital spokesperson Rachael Kagan said. Three others are being treated at Stanford Hospital. Footage of the scene showed debris strewn on the runway and smoke pouring from the jet, as fire crews sprayed a white fire retardant into gaping holes in the aircraft's roof.
About another 15 have yet to regain consciousness, said Margaret Knudson, interim surgery chief at the hospital,
Altogether 181 people were taken to hospital, mostly with minor injuries.
There were 291 passengers and 16 crew on board, Asiana said.
Nationalities on board included 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans and 61 US citizens, the airline said.
Footage of the scene showed debris strewn on the runway and smoke pouring from the jet, as fire crews sprayed a white fire retardant into gaping holes in the craft's roof.
One engine and the tail fin were broken away from the main wreckage.One engine and the tail fin were broken away from the main wreckage.
Quick evacuation Passenger Ben Levy said the accident "happened in a flash" and there was "chaos, disbelief, screaming".
Passenger Ben Levy said there had been no warning of problems, although the plane appeared to be coming in too fast and too low. "My seat had been pushed to the floor, it was a mess everywhere," he said.
"It happened in a flash, nobody was worried about anything," he said.
But once the aircraft crashed, "there was chaos, disbelief, screaming".
"My seat had been pushed to the floor, it was a mess everywhere," Mr Levy recalled.
Nevertheless, people "calmed down pretty quickly" and evacuated the plane without pushing or stepping on each other.Nevertheless, people "calmed down pretty quickly" and evacuated the plane without pushing or stepping on each other.
Meanwhile another passenger, David Eun, tweeted a picture of people evacuating down the plane's emergency inflatable slides and wrote: "I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal..." Another passenger, David Eun, tweeted a picture of people evacuating down the plane's emergency inflatable slides and wrote: "I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal."
A witness to the crash, Ki Siadatan, said the plane "looked out of control" as it descended over San Francisco Bay to land just before 11:30 (18:30 GMT).A witness to the crash, Ki Siadatan, said the plane "looked out of control" as it descended over San Francisco Bay to land just before 11:30 (18:30 GMT).
"We heard a 'boom' and saw the plane disappear into a cloud of dust and smoke," he told the BBC. "There was then a second explosion.""We heard a 'boom' and saw the plane disappear into a cloud of dust and smoke," he told the BBC. "There was then a second explosion."
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