FAA: Asiana Airlines flight crashes at San Francisco airport
Witnesses: Boeing 777 approach appeared normal until nose gear did not come down on landing
Two people were reported killed and 73 to 103 injured in the crash landing of an Asiana Airlines flight at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, a city fire department dispatcher said. Most of the injuries were minor, but reports were continuing to come in, the dipatcher said.
The Boeing 777 was carrying more 300 people from Seoul when it crashed while landing in clear skies on Saturday morning.
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The Federal Aviaton Authority reported that the crash was an accident and not terrorism or criminal sabotage. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
Eyewitnesses said that after touching down, the plane’s nose suddenly angled up and began to spin, then the plane crashed in an area between two tracks.
FAA spokeswoman Lynn Lunsford said the Boeing 777 crashed at San Francisco Airport while landing on Saturday.
Another FAA spokeswoman, Laura Brown, said the plane was coming from South Korea and was supposed to land on runway 28 left at San Francisco International Airport. She said the sequence of events was still unclear, but it appeared the plane landed and then crashed.
(Photo: AP)
Area of crash landing in San Francisco
A video clip posted to Youtube shows smoke coming from a silver-colored jet on the tarmac. Passengers could be seen jumping down the inflatable emergency slides. Television footage showed debris strewn about the tarmac and pieces of the plane lying on the runway. Fire trucks had sprayed a white fire retardant on the wreckage, and the fire had burned through the cabin's roof.
Images from television station KTVU in San Francisco showed extensive fire damage to the airplane, which had lost its tail and one of its wings in the crash.
A call to the airline seeking comment wasn't immediately returned.
Asiana is a South Korean airline, second in size to national carrier Korean Air. It has recently tried to expand its presence in the United States, and joined the oneWorld alliance, anchored by American Airlines and British Airways.
The 777-200 is a long-range plane from Boeing. The twin-engine aircraft is one of the world's most popular long-distance planes, often used for flights of 12 hours or more, from one continent to another. The airline's website says its 777s can carry between 246 to 300 passengers.
The last time a large US airline lost a plane in a fatal crash was an American Airlines Airbus A300 taking off from JFK in 2001.
Smaller airlines have had crashes since then. The last fatal US crash was a Continental Express flight operated by Colgan Air, which crashed into a house near Buffalo, NY on Feb. 12, 2009. The crash killed all 49 people on board and one man in a house.
Yitzhak Benhorin contributed to this report
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