BREAKING Asiana Flight 214 Crashes at SFO (Boeing 777)

[Flagg]

Stay classy Chicago...

[The Duchess of Zeon]

I love the "half as many people just died in a south side shooting in our actual city" .

[Flagg]

Lets be honest the train wreck in Canada should be getting more coverage than a plane crash that killed a couple of people but because they are so rare they get the coverage. That fire in Quebec was still going last I checked...

[Sea Skimmer]

Two of the tank cars are still being cooled off as of this morning, everything else was put out by nightfall yesterday. It also turns out one of the locomotives from the train was on fire in the yard, and the train became a runaway just minutes after firefighters finished putting out that fire. Forty odd people still missing, and very possibly all burned beyond having identifiable remains.

[Broomstick]

Lets be honest the train wreck in Canada should be getting more coverage than a plane crash that killed a couple of people but because they are so rare they get the coverage. That fire in Quebec was still going last I checked...

Absolutely.

Likely significantly more people dead, but fewer accessible survivors to interview. Not to mention that's a largely French-speaking area, which means US stations need to translate survivor stories.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

True, but this crash landing hasn't even been mentioned on the news that I can recall. It may have turned up on News 24 but not on the main program.

It was mentioned in the ITV news, albeit today- two days after the actual event. They were playing the footage already linked- yeah, since Andy Murray won the country's been going nuts about it, what with the last British win being in 1936 and all...

[FSTargetDrone]

The train incident in Canada definitely deserves its own discussion. The railroad chairman said 4 of the 5 locomotives that were pulling the train had been shut down with the 5th idling overnight to maintain brake pressure for the train. There is a possibility that someone purposely shut down the 5th engine. Apparently an emergency control for doing so is on the outside of the locomotive. But that is just speculation that someone did this intentionally.

[Alyeska]

The train incident in Canada definitely deserves its own discussion. The railroad chairman said 4 of the 5 locomotives that were pulling the train had been shut down with the 5th idling overnight to maintain brake pressure for the train. There is a possibility that someone purposely shut down the 5th engine. Apparently an emergency control for doing so is on the outside of the locomotive. But that is just speculation that someone did this intentionally.

Not sure what the requirements are up in Canada, but even with idling airbreak pressure, an unmanned train is supposed to have a percentage of car brakes activated. As in you go down the train and turn the wheel to activate the brakes per car.

[Steel]

True, but this crash landing hasn't even been mentioned on the news that I can recall. It may have turned up on News 24 but not on the main program.

It was mentioned in the ITV news, albeit today- two days after the actual event. They were playing the footage already linked- yeah, since Andy Murray won the country's been going nuts about it, what with the last British win being in 1936 and all...

I saw it on the main BBC news the night it happened, so it was covered at the time. I don't think it warrants any more coverage than it got here, at least until there was some actual information to give.

[FSTargetDrone]

WOW:

KTVU Reports Asiana Air Pilots Were “Sum Ting Wong” and “Ho Lee Fuk”

Cord Jefferson

Today 4:44pm

Bay Area news station KTVU just reported that the pilots of Asiana's disastrous flight 214 were the crack team of "Sum Ting Wong," "Wi Tu Lo," "Ho Lee Fuk," and "Bang Ding Ow."

Despite the names obviously being just a bunch of racist jokes, KTVU, which has since apologized for the report, claims in a statement given to Gawker—and read on the air—that an NTSB official confirmed the names to them earlier today.

EARLIER IN THE NEWSCAST WE GAVE SOME NAMES OF PILOTS INVOLVED IN THE ASIANA AIRLINES CRASH. THESE NAMES WERE NOT ACCURATE DESPITE AN N-T-S-B OFFICIAL IN WASHINGTON CONFIRMING THEM LATE THIS MORNING. WE APOLOGIZE FOR THIS ERROR.

Update: NTSB Public Affairs Officer Peter Knudson just told Gawker that the NTSB's policy is to never give out pilot names in these situations, which contradicts KTVU's claims. "I don’t know who [KTVU] got that from, but we do not release names," he said.

[FSTargetDrone]

Third victim dies and it is confirmed a rescue vehicle struck one of the other 2 young women who died:

Third person dies of injuries in Asiana Flight 214 crash

Updated at 03:24 PM today

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (KGO) -- Officials at San Francisco General Hospital have announced a third person has died from injuries sustained in the Asiana Flight 214 crash at SFO.

At a news conference Friday afternoon one doctor said he, "did everything we could to take care of this young lady."

Officials say the girl's family has requested that no details be released about her or the injuries she sustained in the crash.

SFPD: Teen struck by fire truck after SFO crash

San Francisco police have confirmed that a fire truck hit one of the two girls who died in the plane crash at San Francisco International Airport. The San Mateo County coroner has not determined what the girl's cause of death was.

Ye Meng Yuan, 16, was on the ground and covered in foam that had been sprayed by fire crews. When the truck moved while battling the flames, rescuers discovered her body in the tire track.

It may take the coroner two or three more weeks to determine her cause of death. The fire department is cooperating with all the agencies investigating death.

Thick smoke at crash site overnight

Overnight, thick smoke could be seen from site of the Asiana Airlines plane wreckage at San Francisco International Airport. The thick white smoke could be seen as crews worked to move debris from the plane. ABC7 News is now being told there was no fire, just heavy smoke caused by metal friction as crews cut the plane into smaller pieces.

"When we do this it's cutting through metal, it's creates a lot of friction, a lot heat. We had reports of smoke but no fire. We did have a fire crew standing by during the entire process and they were quickly able to put out that smoke," said Airport spokesman Doug Yakel.

Moments before the heavy smoke, the back part of the aircraft was lifted with a sling and debris came spilling out.

"We really didn't know what to expect. We didn't know if we were going to be able to move it. We didn't know how the wreckage would react to being lifted, if it would buckle. So there were a lot of things we didn't know, there were a lot of things that could have gone wrong," said Yakel.

The plane was removed from the runway and has been placed near the United Airlines hangar. Airport officials said it will remain in that spot for a week or two while the airline decides what to do with it.

"The NTSB has gathered all of the pieces that they need for their investigation, so these remaining elements are essentially the property of the airline," said Yakel.

Work has started on repaving the runway and fixing the light system damaged in the crash. Crews hope to have the runway reopened by Sunday night.

Father still hasn't seen daughter's body

Meantime, the father of the other girl killed is anguished because he still hasn't been able to see his daughter's body because there are procedures that haven't been completed.

The parents of Wang Ling-Jia made the journey from Zhejiang, China to bring their daughter home.

Wang's father told a Chinese newspaper the wait is excruciating.

"I know everyone is doing this for my child but my daughter is my flesh and blood. How can i stand to let her lie in the medical examiner's freezer all by her lonesome?" said Wang's father.

The Chinese Consulate is helping make arrangements with a funeral home and setting up meetings with lawyers to understand their rights.

New push for voice warning system to alert pilots

The NTSB has urged for nearly a decade that airliners should have a voice warning system to alert pilots when they are flying too slowly. Part of the probe into Saturday's crash has focused on the jet's low air speed. USA Today also reports that some in the airline industry oppose putting another, noisy distraction in the cockpit.

Speier, Pelosi visit crash site

Thursday night Rep. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, and San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White visited the crash site.

Speier and Pelosi were at SFO after they returned from Washington D.C. and they wanted to take a look at the wreckage. They wanted to thank the first responders, the airport, and the city so they paid tribute to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White and NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman. Speier said seeing the wreckage Thursday night was jarring.

"You see how much destruction there is and to think that 302 passengers got out and the staff and the flight attendants, it's really& it's a miracle," said Speier.

"The miracle was served by science and technology, that was what enabled many lives to be saved. What public policy can accompany that to save lives in the future," said Pelosi.

Pelosi really wants to find out what lawmakers can do in cooperation with federal and local authorities to make sure that something like this doesn't happen in the future.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Broomstick]

Here's an animation showing the final landing of the aircraft, with a "blue ghost" airplane showing the glideslope they should have been on.

[Zaune]

Almost looks like they'd have made it down in one piece if they hadn't tried to grab some height at the last minute.

[Kuja]

I dunno, it looks to me like if they hadn't made that last-second climb they would had smashed nose-first into the edge of the concrete. They were getting incredibly low.

[Broomstick]

The proper response would have been to maintain pitch altitude and increase power. Failing that, for Og's sake don't pull up like that. The more you pull up the slower you go and the shorter you land. If they had simply maintained their attitude they still would have crashed but the resulting impact would have been less violent. They might have scraped the belly off the airplane but having the tail break off like that, the rear lever up and slam down, would either have not occurred or occurred less violently. Sure, all but three people survived (the third died today) but there were some very serious injuries as a result of all this.

Once they passed the point of no return for being too low and too slow the next best option would have been a belly-slide rather than the tail-strike that actually happened. At that, the tail-strike wasn't the worst of all possibilities but more and more I'm thinking that outcome was luck and not skilled piloting.

[Dominus Atheos]

According to some news reports, the reason for the sudden pull-up was "a bright light from the ground" blinding the pilot.

People are theorizing a laser pointer...

[JME2]

Snip

Yeah, KTVU is officially a laughingstock here tonight.

How the fuck they didn't catch this before it went on air is incredible.

[Broomstick]

According to some news reports, the reason for the sudden pull-up was "a bright light from the ground" blinding the pilot.

People are theorizing a laser pointer...

I'm theorizing he's grasping at straws. Yeah, harsh, I know, but he didn't mention the "flash of light" until several days after the crash and, well, something doesn't ring right about that claim.

[MrDakka]

The apology:


Sounds like they're trying to cover their ass by blaming the NTSB. As for the laser pointer issue, wouldn't the cockpit voice recorder clear that up?

[FSTargetDrone]

Oops:

Terrible NTSB Intern Blamed for KTVU's “Ho Lee Fuk” Blunder
Cord Jefferson
Friday 8:52pm

The National Transportation Safety Board issued a press release this evening acknowledging that a summer intern had erroneously confirmed four fake Asiana pilot names to Bay Area TV station KTVU. The release corroborates KTVU's claim that an NTSB official had confirmed that "Ho Lee Fuk" and "Sum Ting Wong," among others, had been manning Asiana flight 214, which crashed near San Francisco on Saturday.

The National Transportation Safety Board apologizes for inaccurate and offensive names that were mistakenly confirmed as those of the pilots of Asiana flight 214, which crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.

Earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft.

The NTSB does not release or confirm the names of crewmembers or people involved in transportation accidents to the media. We work hard to ensure that only appropriate factual information regarding an investigation is released and deeply regret today's incident.

Appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that such a serious error is not repeated.

Naturally, if you've got any information on the intern behind this shitshow, email us.

KTVU's second apology. Pretty weak excuses, really:



How this got past a producer, editors, anchors, hell, the Teleprompter guy is beyond me. No one questioned these names?

[MrDakka]

That intern is screwed.

[fgalkin]

How this got past a producer, editors, anchors, hell, the Teleprompter guy is beyond me. No one questioned these names?

Because none of them have actually read it? In my own experience, in a small newsroom no one really has time to check every story, so often, what the writers write goes directly to the prompter with no oversight. At best, an editor skimmed it, saw "Asian names," and moved on to the dozen other stories waiting his attention.

Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin

[JME2]

That intern is screwed.

Heads are also probably going to roll over at KTVU too.

This is the biggest Bay Area broadcast snafu in quite a while.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

According to some news reports, the reason for the sudden pull-up was "a bright light from the ground" blinding the pilot.

People are theorizing a laser pointer...

I'm theorizing he's grasping at straws. Yeah, harsh, I know, but he didn't mention the "flash of light" until several days after the crash and, well, something doesn't ring right about that claim.

I'd say the probability of a laser pointer actually hitting someone's eye in the cockpit of a moving aircraft is extremely remote.

[Zaune]

It's not unheard of for people to try, though.