Washington: Pilots of the Asiana Airlines Flight 214 tried to abort the landing less than two seconds before the plane crashed on the runway at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, according to officials. Three Indian nationals were among the 305 survivors of the crash that killed two Chinese girls and left 49 seriously hurt.
The Boeing 777`s voice and flight data recorders show that the flight from South Korea was coming in too slow and too low and that the pilots appear to have increased speed seven seconds before impact, the head of the US National Transportation Safety Board Deborah Hersman said Sunday.
A stall warning sounded four seconds before the crash, and the crew then made an internal decision "to initiate a go-around 1.5 seconds to impact," she was quoted by CNN as telling reporters in San Francisco.
The NTSB`s preliminary assessment of the plane`s cockpit and flight data recorders appear to indicate that the flight went from a routine landing to a disaster in a matter of seconds.
But when asked if pilot error was to blame, Hersman said the crash landing was still under investigation.
"I would discourage anyone from drawing any conclusions at this point," she said, adding that investigators are still working to corroborate the information on the recorders.
"What we need to do is corroborate the information we have both on the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder," Hersman said.
The target air speed for the approach of the flight was 137 knots, and the crew can be heard on the cockpit voice recorder acknowledging the speed, Hersman said.
But the speed was significantly below 137 knots, and "we are not talking about a few knots," she said.
Hersman said her team plans to interview the pilots in the coming days.
The pilot sitting in the captain`s seat had 43 hours of experience flying the B777-200, CNN reported citing Choi Jeong-ho, the head of the South Korea`s Aviation Policy Bureau. He was identified as Lee Kang-gook, he said.
Internal damage to the plane is "really striking," Hersman said, and officials are thankful there weren`t more deaths.
In all, 182 people were hospitalised with injuries ranging from paralysis to "severe road rash" and 123 others walked away from the crash landing.
At San Francisco General, 17 survivors remained hospitalised, six of them in critical condition.
IANS
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.