Tuesday, 9 July 2013

Pilot 'knew' crash plane was too low

Source BBC News@ tienganhvui.com


 Investigator in Charge Bill English, foreground, and NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman discuss the progress of the investigation into the crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 in San Francisco 9 July 2013Both US and Korean officials were expected to interview the pilot and air traffic controllers


The pilots of a plane that crash landed at a San Francisco airport on Saturday are being questioned about the final moments before the impact.


National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) chief Deborah Hersman told CNN the interviews would help understand "what they were experiencing".


Two people were killed and 180 injured when the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 clipped a seawall.


Authorities say one of the dead may have been run over by a fire truck.


The dead have been identified as Chinese teenagers Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia.


Ms Hersman has said airport surveillance video did not conclusively show whether an emergency vehicle had run over one of the students, and a county coroner has said he would need at least two weeks to rule on the death.


The two teenagers had been sitting in the rear of the plane, where many of the most seriously injured passengers were seated, but their bodies were found on the tarmac.


NTSB officials have said it was too early to speculate on the precise causes of the accident, but they have revealed the plane was approaching the runway too slowly and the pilots had tried to abort the landing less than two seconds before the plane struck the seawall and smashed into the ground.


Joint interviews

Asiana Airlines President and CEO Yoon Young-doo (right) leaves for San Francisco at the flight gate of the Incheon International Airport 9 July 2013Asiana Airlines President Yoon Young-doo (right) was travelling to San Francisco to apologise to the injured


South Korean transport minister Choi Jeong-ho told reporters that two of the four Asiana pilots aboard the flight, Lee Kang-kuk and Lee Jeong-min, were questioned on Monday, and the two others would be interviewed on Tuesday.


The pilot interviews will supplement data already obtained from the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder, authorities say.


"The pilots can provide us outstanding observations from their experiences on the flight deck," Ms Hersman said. "They can tell us what was happening, what they know, what procedures they're following."


Korean officials were expected to join the interviews.


At least 30 surviving passengers remain in San Francisco hospitals, many with serious spinal injuries.


Korea shame

On Sunday, the Korean airline revealed that the pilot at the controls during the final approach was landing a Boeing 777 at San Francisco for the first time.


They said Lee Kang-kuk had only 43 flying hours in a Boeing 777, and was assisted by another more experienced pilot as he landed. He had logged thousands of hours on other types of aircraft.


Asiana Airlines President Yoon Young-doo left for San Francisco on Tuesday to visit victims in hospital and apologise for the crash.


And South Korean President Park Geun-hye has sent a condolence letter to China President Xi Jinping and the families of the two deceased young women, calling the crash "regrettable".


The Boeing 777 has a good safety record, and this is thought to be the first fatal crash.


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