National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) (Washington) has conducted its final press conference in San Francisco. The landing Asiana Airlines pilot reported a bright light source on his final approach (reflection of the sun on the water?). The pilot looked away and did not think it blinded him. The other pilot did not report any source of light. Here is the briefing from yesterday afternoon (July 11). The final accident report will probably take a year or longer before it is issued. If there are any recommendations, the NTSB will issue those recommendations sooner to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Meanwhile the remains of the Boeing 777 are slowly being removed.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued this briefing on the Asiana Airlines crash at San Francisco late yesterday (July 10). The briefing includes new information on the pilots.
The July 9, 2013 NTSB Briefing by Chairperson Deborah Hersman on the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco. Two flight attendants survived their ejected from the aircraft.
The Air Line Pilots Association, Intโl, released the following statement regarding the crash landing ofย Asiana Airlines (Seoul) flight 214ย in San Francisco on Saturday, July 6, 2013.
First and foremost, our thoughts are with those who were involved in the accident this past Saturday. From the crew to the passengers to the families and first responders, we hope they can gain some comfort during this difficult time.
ALPA is stunned by the amount of detailed operational data from on-board recorders released by theย National Transportation Safety Boardย (NTSB) this soon into the investigation. The amount of data released publicly during the field portion of theย accident investigationย is unprecedented.
It is imperative that safety investigators refrain from prematurely releasing the information from on-board recording devices. We have seen in the past that publicizing this data before all of it can be collected and analyzed leads to erroneous conclusions that can actually interfere with the investigative process.
The release of individual data points from the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorderโwithout the context of the entire body of factual investigative dataโrepresents a potential detriment to flight safety. It encourages wild speculation, as we have already seen in the media, about causes of the accident before all the facts are known, before investigators have the ability to determine why the events occurred, and in this case before the flight crew had even been interviewed.
This premature release of partial data is often taken out of context and creates the impression that the NTSB has already determined probable cause even before the investigation has started. Since each factor of flight, landing, airport environment, and crew is part of safe air travel, we need to ensure that reckless release of information is not sensationalized by the media for the purpose of a few headlines.
ALPAย has long supported an objective accident investigation process that is based on the fundamental principle of obtaining all the facts to perform accurate analysis in the context of all factors that may have led to an accident. We stand ready to assist the NTSB or any state investigative agency in obtaining those facts and ensuring that an appropriate operational context is maintained.
ALPA urges the NTSB to make sure that the objective investigative process continues by gathering all the facts and relevant information before leading the public to believe that a cause has been determined.
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the worldโs largest pilots union, representing more than 50,000 pilots at 33 airlines in the United States and Canada.
NTSB Videos:
CNN Video:
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Here is another view of the ill-fatedย Boeing 777-28E ER HL7742 (msn 29171) arriving at Los Angeles before the accident at SFO.
Asiana Airlines‘ (Seoul) pilot attempting the ill-fated landing at San Francisco on Saturday (July 6) was visiting San Francisco for the first time in a Boeing 777 (he visited SFO in other aircraft in the past). Lee Kang-kuk had previously logged only 43 hours in the Triple Seven before the accident. It is unclear ifย the senior pilot in the cockpit, Lee Jung-min, who had 3,220 hours in the Boeing 777, attempted to take over the aircraft to abort the landing at the end.
The aircraft was coming in “slow and low” as the now famous plane watcher video now shows (see below in a previous entry) along with data released by the NTSB. NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman (above)ย said the 777 was “well below” the required air speed of 137 knots on its low approach. The crew finally applied power after receiving the “stick shaker” warning of an imminent stall. It was too late to go around.
The two Chinese teenagers who died in the crash were thrown from the aircraft. Now it has been announced that one of the teenagers was probably run over by a responding fire truck.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) (Washington) investigators arrived on the scene last evening of the crash of Asiana Airlines‘ (Seoul) Boeing 777-28E ER HL7742 (msn 29171) that crashed while attempting to land.
Meanwhile Asiana Airlines issued this statement:
Press Release for Incident Involving Asiana Flight OZ 214 (July 7, 2013 06:30 KOR.Time)
The following information has been confirmed.
Asiana Airlines flight OZ 214 (Aircraft Registration HL7742) departed Incheon International Airport on July 6, 2013 at 16:35 (Korea time) bound for San Francisco. On July 7, 2013 at 11:28 (Local time) an accident occurred as OZ 214 was making a landing on San Francisco International Airportโs runway 28 L.
There were a total of 291 passengers (19 business class, 272 travel class) and 16 cabin crew aboard. The majority of the passengers were comprised of 77 Korean citizens, 141 Chinese citizens, 61 US citizens, 1 Japanese citizen, etc. for a total of 291 people.
Asiana Airlines is currently investigating the specific cause of the incident as well as any injuries that may have been sustained to passengers as a result. Asiana Airlines will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation of all associated government agencies and to facilitate this cooperation has established an emergency response center at its headquarters.
At this point no additional information has been confirmed. New developments will be announced as more information becomes available.
For further information regarding OZ213/214, please contact 800-227-4262.
Additionally the CEO of Asiana has ruled out any engine problems with the aircraft.
All passengers and crew members have now been accounted for. The two dead passengers were Chinese teenagers who were found outside of the aircraft, probably dropping from the rear section when it broke up on impact with the seawall. More than 100 people were injured.
Read the full story from KGO Channel 7 in San Francisco: CLICK HERE
Top Copyright Photo: NTSB.ย NTSB investigators conduct first site assessment of #Asiana214 in San Francisco.
Asiana Airlines:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: NTSB.ย Chairman Hersman and Investigator-in-Charge Bill English looking at interior damage to #Asiana214.
Asiana Airlines‘ (Seoul) flight OZ 214 from Seoul (Incheon) to San Francisco with a reported 291 passengers and 16 crew members crashed landed short of runway 28L on landing at San Francisco at 1127 local time. The underside of the fuselage, possibly the main gear, impacted the rock seawall while landing leaving a trail of debris down the overrun area and on to the runway. The forward section of Boeing 777-28E ER HL7742 (msn 29171) was consumed by fire. The main fuselage separated from the tail section on impact. Most passengers and crew members were able to escape the burning aircraft from the main section.
The flight crew gave no indication of a problem before attempting its landing.
Two people have died in the crash. 181 people were initially transported to nine area hospitals from the triage area. 123 people are listed as uninjured. 34 people have been transported to the Trauma Center at the San Francisco General Hospital. Of these 34, five are listed now as “critical” and five are now listed as “serious”. One person is now listed as “unaccounted”. The remainder were later transported to area hospitals for medical attention and are expected to be released.
One eyewitness, watching the planes landing, reported to CNN that he saw the airliner land short of the runway with the landing gear hitting the seawall. A fire ball flared on the underside of the aircraft during the hard landing. The aircraft cartwheeled according to the eyewitness with the tail section and vertical stabilizers separating quickly. The right wing tip shows damage.
Another eyewitness who was a passenger in the rear section of the aircraft told CNN the tail section hit the ground very hard and at least two Flight Attendants “fell out” from rear into the gap that was created when the tail section separated.
An United Boeing 747-400 was very close to the final resting spot of the forward section and was preparing to depart.
Weather was reported to be clear and visibility at 10 miles at the time of the accident.
San Francisco International Airport is now reporting it has opened two runways.
HL7742 was delivered new to Asiana on March 7, 2006.
JetBlue Airways (New York) and Asiana Airlines (Seoul) have announced the launch of an interline agreement to connect each other’s networks and bring new flight options to travelers between Asia and the Americas.
Through the arrangement, effective immediately, travelers can book single-ticket travel combining flights on both carriers and enjoy one-stop baggage check-in when they transfer between the airlines at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).
JetBlue is the largest domestic airline at JFK, where Asiana offers daily nonstop service to its global hub at Incheon International Airport. Travelers can connect onward to cities across Asia and Oceania via Seoul.
U.S.-bound travelers will enjoy easy transfers at JFK from Asiana to JetBlue destinations including Boston, Massachusetts; Burlington, Vermont; Syracuse and Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York; Portland, Maine, Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and six cities in Florida including Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, and Jacksonville.
Top Copyright Photo: Keith Burton. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N348JB (msn 19000511) with the Barcode tail fin gracefully climbs away from Toronto (Pearson).
JetBlue Airways:ย
Asiana Airlines:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Yuji Wang. Boeing 767-38E HL7514 (msn 25763) of Asiana Airlines arrives from the Seoul hub at Shanghai (Pudong).
Asiana Airlines (Seoul) will launch the Seoul (Incheon)-Da Nang (Vietnam) route on December 14 according to Airline Route. The new route will be operated twice-weekly with Airbus A321s.
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