Flight 214

11 Stories

Asiana Victim Killed by Vehicle, Not Crash

Coroner confirms she was alive when run over

(Newser) - A California coroner has confirmed the wrenching truth: One of the teen victims of the Asiana Airlines crash was killed not by the crash but by an emergency vehicle. The San Mateo coroner concluded that 16-year-old Ye Meng Yuan of China was alive when she was run over by the...

Korean Pilots Rely on Autopilot: Aviators

They're not trained much on manual flying, pilots say

(Newser) - A potentially telling revelation in the wake of the Asiana Airlines crash landing at the San Francisco airport: Asiana pilots have little training on manual flying and visual approaches, according to three pilots Bloomberg spoke to who have either flown for Asiana or helped train Korean crews. One of the...

NTSB: Asiana Crash Looking Like Pilot Error

Top concern is slow speed during descent; still no sign of mechanical failure

(Newser) - The continuing investigation into the crash of an Asiana Airlines plane still hasn't spotted any mechanical trouble—meaning it's likely that pilot mistakes were to blame for the disaster, Sky News reports. National Transportation Safety Board chair Deborah Hersman offered new information about investigators' findings, with concern centered...

Asiana Pilot: Light Blinded Me at 500 Feet

Investigators unsure of its source

(Newser) - Clues to what may have caused the Asiana Airlines crash this weekend continue to emerge . The latest: The plane's pilot said that while flying at 500 feet, he was blinded by light, investigators say. "It was a temporary issue," says National Transportation Safety Board chair Deborah Hersman,...

Pilot, Co-Pilot Didn't Talk About Unfolding SF Disaster

Cockpit voice recordings show no communication until seconds before crash

(Newser) - As Asiana Airlines Flight 214 descended toward San Francisco International Airport— too low , too slow , and with a pilot who had never landed a Boeing 777 at the tricky airport before—cockpit voice recordings show that pilot Lee Hang-kook and the co-pilot supervising him, who was more experienced, did not...

Seat Belts, Safety Changes Saved Lives in SF Crash

But many survivors suffered spinal injuries

(Newser) - If Saturday's plane crash in San Francisco had happened 25 years ago—or if passengers hadn't been wearing seat belts—the death toll would have been a lot higher than two out of the 307 passengers and crew, experts say. FAA mandates in the late 1980s forced manufacturers...

Pilots: SF Airport Was a Crash Waiting to Happen

Landing system had been down for weeks

(Newser) - "It was only a matter of time before something like this happened." That's one pilot's take on the headline-grabbing Asiana Airlines crash that left two people dead and 182 injured. The San Francisco International Airport was primed for disaster, pilots tell Der Spiegel , because a landing...

'Hero' Crew Member: SF Evacuation Began Badly

Slides inflated inside, pinning flight attendants down

(Newser) - A 20-year Asiana veteran is the first crew member of the doomed Flight 214 to speak, and according to Lee Yoon-hye, the evacuation did not begin smoothly. But first came the hard landing, which the cabin manager describes as "a bang ... afterward, there was another shock and the plane...

Pilot in SF Crash Was Still Training

It was his first attempt to land 777 at SFO

(Newser) - The pilot in Saturday's plane crash in San Francisco was a veteran with almost 10,000 hours of flying experience—but just 43 of them were in a Boeing 777 and the disaster that killed two people and injured 182 others was his first attempt to land that type...

Did Emergency Vehicle Kill SF Crash Victim?

Investigators suspect teen victim was run over

(Newser) - Investigators fear that one of the two teenage girls from China killed in Saturday's San Francisco plane crash may have survived the impact only to be fatally run over by a fire rig, reports Reuters . The 16-year-old did not suffer extensive burns but has injuries consistent with being run...

Flight Tried to Abort Landing Seconds Before Crash

But cockpit voice recorder reveals nothing was obviously wrong before that

(Newser) - Some news from the cockpit voice recorder of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is finally in: the jetliner tried to abort its landing and come around for another try 1.5 seconds before it crashed at San Francisco airport, says NTSB chief Deborah Hersman. There was also a call to increase...

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