Asiana 777 crash in SFO

[ameriken]

CNN news reporting now that an Asiana 777 has crash landed in SFO. No other details as of yet.

[ameriken]

FAA: Boeing 777 crashes at San Francisco International Airport

By Mike N. Ahlers, CNN

(CNN) -- A Boeing 777 operated by Asiana Airlines crashed while landing Saturday at San Francisco International Airport.

Flight 214 left Seoul's Incheon International Airport earlier Saturday and flew 10 hours and 23 minutes to California, according to FlightAware, a website that offers tracking services for private and commercial air traffic.

Anthony Castorani, who witnessed the flight land from a nearby hotel, said he saw the plane touch the ground then noticed a larger plume of white smoke.

"You heard a pop and you immediately saw a large, brief fireball that came from underneath the aircraft," he told CNN. "It began to cartwheel."

Kristina Stapchuck saw the dramatic scene unfold from her seat on a plane on the airport tarmac. Soon after Flight 214 touched down, "it looked like the tires slipped a little bit and it rocked back," she told CNN.

Parts of the plane began to break off as it rocked and then began to spin.

"It all happened so suddenly," Stapchuck told CNN.

Video taken soon after the crash and posted on YouTube showed dark gray smoke rising from the plane, which appeared to be upright. That smoke later became white, even as fire crews continued to douse the plane.

A photograph posted to Twitter shows what appear to be passengers walking off the plane, some of them toting bags, as smoke rises from the other side.

The top of the aircraft was charred and, in spots, gone entirely, according to video from CNN affiliate KTVU. The plane was on its belly, with no landing gear evident and the rear tail of the plane gone.

Fire trucks were on site, while first responders could be seen walking outside the aircraft.

Evacuation slides could be seen extending from one side of the aircraft, from which there was no apparent smoke.

There were a few clouds in the sky around the time of the crash, and temperatures were about 65 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. Winds were about 8 miles per hour.

CNN's Dana Bash, who was heading to the airport at the time of the crash, said she noticed smoke emanating from the runway. She said she had not noticed any arrivals or departures since the crash.

Asiana Airlines is one of South Korea's two major airlines, the other being Korean Air.

It operates many of its flights out of Incheon International Airport, which is the largest airport in South Korea and considered among the busiest in the world.

San Francisco International Airport, located some 12 miles south of downtown San Francisco, is California's second busiest, behind LAX in Los Angeles.

According to information on Asiana Airlines' website, the company has 12 Boeing 777 planes. They have a seating capacity of between 246 and 300 people and had a cruising speed of 555 mph (894 kph).

CNN's Chelsea J. Carter contributed to this report.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/06/us/california-plane-incident/

Edited July 6, 2013 by ameriken (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

That's aweful, lets hope many got out.

[dnoblett]

So far early reports indicate 2 dead hopefully no more, a 777 can carry a lot of people.

[Randy W]

Joanne's daughter was on a flight to SFO to connect to Shanghai. They diverted her to Oakland, and she is on her way back to Seattle.

[Dennis143]

It appears that the tail struck the edge of the runway and tore off causing the airplane to "spin like a top".

 

It's a bit of an eerie feeling landing at SFO. The plane flies low over the bay before the runway appears.

 

Here's a pilot's view. (Click to the 4min mark)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0Y6GTI9pg4

[danb]

Randy, according to the news , Asiana Flight 214 had somewhere between 140 and 171 Chinese passengers. Their flight originated out of Shanghai. The info on the news seems to be constantly changing. They closed the airport in the beginning but I heard that they have now opened up some of the runways. I think it must be very scary to be getting on a plane today. I am glad that Joanne's daughter is okay. What airlines was she flying? Danb

[Randy W]

Randy, according to the news , Asiana Flight 214 had somewhere between 140 and 171 Chinese passengers. Their flight originated out of Shanghai. The info on the news seems to be constantly changing. They closed the airport in the beginning but I heard that they have now opened up some of the runways. I think it must be very scary to be getting on a plane today. I am glad that Joanne's daughter is okay. What airlines was she flying? Danb

 

 

She was on Facebook just a few minutes ago, but didn't say what airline. I think her (Joanne's) daughter's situation was resolved before she found out about the crash.

[ameriken]

Looks like the 2 Chinese killed were teens. So sad.

 

 

 

2 Chinese killed in San Francisco plane crash identified

 

 

Thirty-four people -- 29 students and five teachers -- from Jiangshan Middle School were on the plane that crashed in San Francisco on Saturday. BEIJING — The two Chinese victims of the Asiana Flight 214 crash in San Francisco were identified Sunday as teenage schoolgirls in eastern China, headed to the USA for a two-week summer camp.

Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, both 16, were students at Jiangshan Middle School in Zhejiang province bordering Shanghai, reported China Central Television, citing a fax from Asiana Airlines, which operated the plane that crashed.

Of the 291 passengers on board, 141 were Chinese. At least 70 Chinese students and teachers were on the plane heading to summer camps, according to education authorities in China. Teacher Ye Lianjun told Chinese television that there were 34 people traveling in the Jiangshan Middle School group — five teachers and 29 students.

Anxious parents gathered Sunday around the school gate, said student Jiang Wenbin, 19.

"They are worried, and nervous, waiting for the news. They only have one kid in the family, so I understand them," Jiang said.

"One friend called me when he got off the plane, many of them are my good friends," he said before the two deaths were confirmed. "I am very worried about them, I wish them all safe."

The two victims' final postings on Chinese micro-blogging service Tencent Weibo drew interest Sunday.

On Friday, the day before the Jiangshan Middle Group departed Shanghai bound for San Francisco via Seoul, Wang Linjia wrote simply "Go", in English.

In another recent posting, she said the prospect of saying goodbye to old classmates left her overwhelmed by sadness. Wang often quoted from a modern fairy tale popular among young people for reflecting the joys and pain of growing up.

On Thursday, Ye Mengyuan, whose personal name, Mengyuan, means "dreams come true", made her final post — "444444". The number four is considered unlucky in Chinese as it sounds similar to the character for "death".

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/07/chinese-deaths-asiana-airlines-flight-214-crash/2496269/

Edited July 7, 2013 by ameriken (see edit history)

[ameriken]

New video of the plane crash-landing

 

http://news.kron4.com/news/boeing-777-crashes-at-sfo/

[tsap seui]

Sorry to see the kids died and others are hurt so bad.

 

I remember coming home from Nam for the second time and flyin' into San Francisco....you could see the lights from America a long way off (seemed like an hour away), such a welcome sight for us fresh out of the war, the approach over the water was cool....then we landed and disembarked to the rotten fruit and crap thrown at us from the SDS and protesters, got inside the airport and got shunned and verbally abused by the folks in the airport. Who cared, at least they didn't have AK-47's...LOL I always liked landing in San Francisco coming back from various trips to New Zealand and Australia, the water approach and seeing the bridge as you come in is never short of inspiring.

 

tsap seui

[dnoblett]

Pilot only had 43 hours experience with the 777, making a first landing at SFO with the 777. He had flown the 747 into SFO many times.

 

Very good detailed video coverage here on FOX.

 

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/07/08/new-video-san-francisco-plane-crash-surfaces

 

Sounds like one of the deaths may have happened due to getting run over by an emergency vehicle.

[tsap seui]

Plus, the pilot had to land it himself as there is construction on the glide path array at this time and the pilots had to be full hands on. Jeez, these pilots are so used to computers flying the dang planes that they know more about inputting data on a computer than flying by the seat of their pants. It sounds like this guy just blew his landing.

 

I don't care how old and ugly the United flight attendants are, nor how good the food is on the other lines...I'm stickin' with United Airlines.

 

tsap seui

[dnoblett]

Plus, the pilot had to land it himself as there is construction on the glide path array at this time and the pilots had to be full hands on. Jeez, these pilots are so used to computers flying the dang planes that they know more about inputting data on a computer than flying by the seat of their pants. It sounds like this guy just blew his landing.

 

I don't care how old and ugly the United flight attendants are, nor how good the food is on the other lines...I'm stickin' with United Airlines.

 

tsap seui

Very true, this has become a concern with modern airliners, for the most part, the pilot taxies, take offs and land the plane, however the plane is flown for 99% of the time using the auto-pilot, the concern is that pilots become very complacent, and loose the edge on how to handle unusual situations, and loose the reaction time because of this.

 

A good video to watch that discuss this is: "Lost - The Mystery Of Flight 447 [Air France Flight 447]" it has been postulated that in that case they lost airspeed indication forcing the pilots to run without auto-pilot, and they did not know how to handle this situation.

 

http://youtu.be/6QsCkm3c200

[dnoblett]

Senior pilot on crashed Asiana jet was on first training flight

(Reuters) - The senior pilot who oversaw the landing by a more junior colleague of the Asiana passenger jet that crashed in San Francisco on Saturday was on his first flight as a trainer, the South Korean airline said on Monday.

Asiana Airlines Inc. said that the senior pilot on the flight, Lee Jung-min, had received his training certificate in June.

Lee Kang-kuk was the second most junior pilot of four on board the Asiana Airlines aircraft. He had just 43 hours' experience flying the long-range jet and, under supervision, was making his first landing on a Boeing 777 at San Francisco.

MORE...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/07/08/usa-crash-asiana-training-idUSL4N0FE2V920130708