Asiana 777 hull loss at SFO

[pythonisman]

UPDATE 1-Plane, engines not at fault in Asiana crash - CEO | Reuters

Reuters reporting that during a press conference, the President and CEO of Asiana said:

"For now, we acknowledge that there were no problems caused by the 777-200 plane or (its) engines,"

Thoughts go out to the families of the people involved in this tragedy (and all the people themselves!), and given the position the aircraft stopped in, and its trajectory, it's incredibly lucky it didn't take out the UA flight sitting on the taxiway..!

 

[UP4014]

And how many people on here have gone through the same experience,unless you have then you cannot really be critical of actions of pax during a terrible event such as this.

I have been in a downed aircraft into water, and I tell you i did not give a thought to grabbing anything except the door handle.

I think it shows the me me me attitude and As long as I'm all right, I definitely don't think you need much thought on getting out of a crashed aircraft and I speak from experience. These people are a disgrace to humanity, think about it.

 

[JessicaTam]

I think if I had enough notice of an impending hard landing I would shove my passport in my pocket. Apart from that, nothing else matters - and that only to avoid ID problems in the ensuing few days (from a personal and rescuer point of view).

 

[Rallo]

Possibly, however you only need to read this report to understand why there is a need to get out ASAP, without baggage etc:

http://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR91-08.pdf

Interesting read thanks for posting link.

 

[Kendall Roy]

UPDATE 1-Plane, engines not at fault in Asiana crash - CEO | Reuters

I'd have my money on pilot error!

 

[whatmeworry]

I think if I had enough notice of an impending hard landing I would shove my passport in my pocket. Apart from that, nothing else matters - and that only to avoid ID problems in the ensuing few days (from a personal and rescuer point of view).

I always have my passport, wallet and cash on me. I now would be thinking about putting on my day backpack on front ways and clicking on the strap on my back for landings. Other cough like clothing and duty free can stay on the plane if it ever crashed.

He said he was able to evacuate safely, sitting in the middle of the plane, but the flight attendants sitting in the back "got hammered - because we landed short. And then they all fell out - and it was just the most terrible thing I've seen," Stone said.

He said around 20 minutes after the crash, he and fellow passengers noticed "another five bodies like 457 metres away that nobody saw," adding they alerted emergency workers, but were frustrated at the response. We were yelling at people, yelling at firefighters. Get over here. They were just lagging hard. I don't know."

Images on television station KTVU in San Francisco showed emergency chutes had been deployed from at least two of the aircraft's exits. Fire had burned through the cabin's roof and appeared to have gutted much of the aircraft's interior.

The plane lost its tail in the crash and parts of it could be seen near the start of the runway.

Survivor Benjamin Levy told local a local NBC station by phone that he believed the plane had been coming in too low.

"I know the airport pretty well, so I realized the guy was a bit too low, too fast, and somehow he was not going to hit the runway on time, so he was too low ... he put some gas and tried to go up again," he said.

"But it was too late, so we hit the runway pretty bad, and then we started going up in the air again, and then landed again, pretty hard," Levy said.

He said he opened an emergency door and ushered people out. "We got pretty much everyone in the back section of the plane out," he said. "When we got out there was some smoke. There was no fire then, the fire came afterward."

Read more: Plane Crash At San Francisco International Airport
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Anybody know if the FA's that were blown out at the back survived? Thankfully the pax got off before the fire started.

 

[kpc]

I always have my passport, wallet and cash on me. I now would be thinking about putting on my day backpack on front ways and clicking on the strap on my back for landings. .

That backpack may hinder your escape through a narrow opening, or may cause you to sink in water...:shock:

 

[drpurpleturtle]

Anybody know if the FA's that were blown out at the back survived? Thankfully the pax got off before the fire started.

I can't put the link up as i'm under 10 posts, but according to the dailymail the persons killed were an adult woman and 16 year old girl with Chinese Passports. So the FA's at the back may possibly be those listed as critically injured.

Condolences to the families and friends and to all those involved in the accident.

 

[straitman]

I'd have my money on pilot error!

Why and what is your definition of pilot error:?

A fairly broad statement at this stage of the proceedings IMHO.

 

[Hvr]

I can't put the link up as i'm under 10 posts, but according to the dailymail the persons killed were an adult woman and 16 year old girl with Chinese Passports. So the FA's at the back may possibly be those listed as critically injured.

Condolences to the families and friends and to all those involved in the accident.

Here's a link confirming the dead were Chinese nationals. 2 Chinese killed in San Francisco plane crash identified

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.

Also here: 2 Chinese confirmed dead in Asiana jet crash, 180 injured -- Shanghai Daily | ???? -- English Window to China New

 

[moa999]

On the pilot error comment... way too early to speculate.

I note a twitter post on the ft thread suggesting another plane landing just before had a very awkward landing, so maybe suggesting some weather.

 

[whatmeworry]

This accident reminds me a little of the EK incident at MEL, where there was a miscalculation with the weights entered onto the computer IIRC.

 

[kpc]

Here's a link confirming the dead were Chinese nationals. 2 Chinese killed in San Francisco plane crash identified



Also here: 2 Chinese confirmed dead in Asiana jet crash, 180 injured -- Shanghai Daily | ???? -- English Window to China New

So sad to read about the 2 poor Chinese students....my heart goes out to the parents!!

 

[mannej]

This accident reminds me a little of the EK incident at MEL, where there was a miscalculation with the weights entered onto the computer IIRC.

Two totally different phases of the flight so it's hard to see a correlation between The two.

 

[Skyring]

I cannot believed that some pax evacuated taking their luggage, wtf!!! Scumbags!

Sounds pretty ordinary to me.

As in ordinary human behaviour. Especially in an emergency.

And I wouldn't expect this behaviour to be restricted to the passengers. In fact, my money would be on the crew to be wheeling their bags away.

As for me, I wouldn't be hanging onto my carryon going down a chute, but my wallet and phone would be in my pockets and I'd certainly make a grab for my little manbag with my ipad, passport and travel documents.

Every time my plane is landing, I've got my shoes and socks back on, my gear is stowed away, and I've counted the number of rows to the nearest exit.

 

[Skyring]

I'd have my money on pilot error!

I wouldn't. Way too early to speculate without evidence. The flight recorders have been recovered, let's hear what they say.

If it was me flying the plane, it would be pilot error. With experienced pilots at the controls, it's probably something else. Weather, electronics on the frutz, mechanical failure - who knows? I don't. I'd be guessing.

 

[DGW]

The first video I've seen of the crash itself (you'll have to squint): Video shows plane's moment of impact - CNN.com Video

 

[OATEK]

CNN reporting from NTSB: "The NTSB's preliminary assessment of the plane's coughpit and flight data recorders show the flight was coming in too slow and too low, but Hersman stopped short of pinning the blame on the pilots."

 

[sydks]

Just saw a clip of the NTSB investigator talking on the today show saying that they have already listened to the coughpit voice recorder and they advised that 7 seconds prior to impact ther was a call for increased power and then at 1 point something seconds prior there was a call for a go around. Means potentially the engines were producing increasing thrust at point of impact, not a great situation. They also showed a video where you can clearly see the nose go quite high in attitude and that the plane did indeed rotate, though not flip obviously. Im actually amazed how well the fuselage held together considering what it appears to have gone through! RIP to the 2 victims, and lets hope those injured make speedy recoveries.

 

[Skyring]

The first video I've seen of the crash itself (you'll have to squint): Video shows plane's moment of impact - CNN.com Video

I can see now why witnesses described the plane as "cartwheeling down the runway". Obviously not quite that dramatic, but still I am astonished that fatalities were so low. It must have been a solid impact when it came down for the last time, and I'll bet a lot of people have their seatbelts to thank for their lives. And their limbs.