Kim
Can you email me off line?
Michael Marsh, Paramedic Captain
AMR San Mateo County (Charlie Company)
Special Operations Assistant Commander
Northern California E.R.T. Coordinator
650-642-5083<tel:650-642-5083> (24 hour On-Duty Supervisor line)
415-516-7533<tel:415-516-7533> Cell
On Jul 7, 2013, at 22:25, "Kim Noyes" <kimnoyes@gmail.com<mailto:kimnoyes@gmail.com>> wrote:
SF plane crash: Crew tried to abort landing
Jaxon Van Derbeken and Demian Bulwa
Updated 9:30 pm, Sunday, July 7, 2013
(07-07) 20:33 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- The doomed Asiana Airlines jetliner had its throttles set to idle and was moving so slowly that it nearly stalled before it smashed into a seawall bordering a San Francisco International Airport<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22San+Francisco+International+Airport%22> runway, federal investigators said Sunday.
The crew tried to abort the landing and avert the disaster, which killed two teenagers on board and injured dozens more, but it was too late, according to a preliminary review of flight data and cockpit communications by the National Transportation Safety Board<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22National+Transportation+Safety+Board%22>.
The crew sought to accelerate 7 1/2 seconds before impact, investigators said. Three seconds later, a vibrating "shaker stick" in the cockpit signaled an impending stall - a condition in which the wings lose lift and a plane can't be controlled.
And with 1 1/2 seconds left, someone on board alerted an air traffic controller that the Boeing 777<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Boeing+777%22> jetliner would try to pull up and circle around. It could not, and at 11:27 a.m. it bounced and skidded across the ground, losing its tail before it came to rest on the side of Runway 28L.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said at a media briefing Sunday that it was too early to say what caused the crash of Asiana Flight 214<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Asiana+Flight+214%22>, which was completing an 11-hour trip from Seoul with 307 people aboard.
"Everything is on the table right now," she said.
Much slower than target
However, Hersman focused her comments on the speed of the plane, which she said was "significantly below" the target speed of 137 knots, or 158 mph. "We're not talking about a few knots here or there," she said.
"The approach proceeds normally as they descend. There is no discussion of any aircraft anomalies or concerns with the approach," Hersman said. When the throttles were finally advanced seconds before impact, she said, "the engines appear to respond normally."
At that point, though, the crew may have been powerless to regain altitude, said aviation experts. They were surprised that the jetliner's throttles were apparently idling at such a low altitude, which would have caused a lag time when they were finally pushed.
"If you do that prior to impact, you're not going to have enough time to advance the throttles," said Barry Schiff<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Barry+Schiff%22>, a former pilot for TWA who has written extensively about aviation safety. "You should always make an approach with power, and they didn't do that."
He added, "These pilots have a lot of explaining to do."
Jim Tilmon<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Jim+Tilmon%22>, a former commercial pilot and aviation consultant in Arizona, said the plane appeared to be "behind the power curve" - meaning that when the crew tried to throttle up the Pratt & Whitney<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Pratt+%26+Whitney%22> engines, they may not have had enough altitude to arrest their descent.
"It sounds like, too low, too slow, too late," Tilmon said.
Teens killed
In South Korea, company officials ruled out engine trouble as the cause of the crash and said that two veterans were piloting the plane at the time. The flight originated in Shanghai and stopped over in Seoul, and Asiana Airlines said most of the passengers were Chinese, Korean and U.S. citizens.
The crash killed Ye Meng Yuan and Wang Lin Jia, 16-year-olds who were on a summer educational trip from Jiangshan City, China, airline officials said. They were believed to be sitting in the back of the plane.
One of the teenagers was apparently ejected in the crash and her body was recovered on the runway, near the wreckage of the tail section of the plane. The second girl was found about 30 feet west of the plane, near the left wing, some distance from the tail section.
Investigators were trying to determine whether she was struck by a responding fire rig.
Another two victims suffered severe abrasions after apparently being ejected from the plane, said Margaret Knudson<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Margaret+Knudson%22>, chief of surgery at San Francisco General Hospital<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22San+Francisco+General+Hospital%22>, where they were being treated. Knudson said the patients, who were not identified, were in critical condition, along with four others, including a child.
Hersman said one part of the investigation would look at whether the crew of the jetliner was affected by the loss of a key piece of airport equipment, known as a glide slope indicator, that had not been operating since June 1 because of a runway expansion project.
The system - designed for weather conditions that decrease visibility - gives pilots a 3-degree descent path to the runway. A needle on the instrument panel moves up and down and tells the pilot whether the plane is coming in too high or too low.
Good visibility
Hersman warned against drawing any conclusions about the loss of the indicator. Other systems were available to guide the plane, she said, including color-coded lights that show red when planes approach too low. It was a clear day with good visibility, she said, and the pilots were cleared for a visual approach.
Aviation experts said the loss of the glide slope system should not have been a problem. However, they added that, if it was working, it might have warned the Asiana Airlines crew of the impending danger.
"Let's face it, pilots were making approaches to that runway all day long," Schiff said. "You don't need to have that when conditions are clear. You can see the runway ahead of you."
Data collected by FlightAware, which tracks navigation broadcasts for sale to the aviation industry, showed the plane was dropping fast. When the plane was 600 feet over the bay, the company said, its descent was nearly twice as fast as normal.
The investigation, which will take months, will be aided not only by the recovery of the flight data recorder, but also by the survival of the pilots, said Kevin Hiatt<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Kevin+Hiatt%22>, a former chief pilot for Delta Airlines<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Delta+Airlines%22> who heads the Flight Safety Foundation<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Flight+Safety+Foundation%22> in Alexandria, Va.
"Investigators are going to be able to talk to them about whether there were any other factors that got them into that situation," Hiatt said.
Students on board
Passengers on the flight included 60 students and 10 teachers on a summer tour from China, said Wang Chuan<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Wang+Chuan%22>, a spokesman for the Chinese Consulate in San Francisco.
He said he understood that the students - from Zhe Jiang and Shan Xi provinces - would be touring the United States, studying English and learning American culture. He said the consulate will be offering support for the students to obtain visas to return home.
Half of the contingent - 35 students and staff - had been en route to West Valley Christian Church<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22West+Valley+Christian+Church%22> and School in the San Fernando Valley community of West Hills, according to the school's website.
Consul General Yuan Nansheng<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Yuan+Nansheng%22> said, through a translator, that he understood that the two girls who were killed had planned to visit Stanford University before going to the West Valley Christian Church and School.
"This is a tragic accident, but things could be worse," he said.
Close call for martial artists
A group of 10 survivors, who suffered only bumps and bruises, were on a trip to South Korea while representing a pair of martial arts studios in Santa Cruz County, said Mark Schimmel of Mount Hermon. His son, 19-year-old David Schimmel<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22David+Schimmel%22> of Scotts Valley, was part of the contingent and sprained his shoulder.
Mark Schimmel said the group was sitting in the middle of the plane. Eight people, he said, jumped out a rear door and two eased down a slide in the front before they all reconnected and called family members to report they were OK. After that, he said, the group walked behind the plane, found two or three flight attendants badly wounded on the ground, and held them until paramedics arrived.
David Schimmel's gold medal from a tae kwon do competition in South Korea remains in the belly of the jetliner, his father said, but that doesn't matter.
"They saw some horrific things," Mark Schimmel said. "I'm really pleased David is alive and well."
San Francisco Chronicle<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=bayarea&search=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22San+Francisco+Chronicle%22> staff writers Justin Berton, Marisa Lagos, Erin Allday contributed to this report.
Jaxon Van Derbeken and Demian Bulwa are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers.
Source:
--
Check out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/
Read my blog at http://eclecticarcania.blogspot.com/
My Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/derkimster
Linkedin profile: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kim-noyes/9/3a1/2b8
Follow me on Twitter @DisasterKim
------------------------------------
Be sure to check out our Links Section at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/links
Please join our Discussion Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters_discussion/ for topical but extended discussions started here or for less topical but nonetheless relevant messages.Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/californiadisasters/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
californiadisasters-digest@yahoogroups.com
californiadisasters-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
californiadisasters-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment