Flight Safety Information July 28, 2011 - No. 154 In This Issue Asiana Airlines 747 cargo plane crashes off South Korea Raw Video: Cargo Plane Search Off South Korea Accident Data: Asiana Airlines 747 cargo plane crashes off South Korea; pilots remain missing Coast guard rescue teams recovering wreckage from Asiana. Wreckage has been recovered from an Asiana Airlines cargo plane which crashed off the coast of South Korea on Thursday, soon after crew reported a fire onboard. An Asiana Airlines 747 Freighter- similar to the jet which crashed on Thursday. The Boeing 747-400F jet had taken-off from Seoul Incheon airport at 3:05am (local time) on Thursday, bound for Shanghai. But about an hour into the flight the pilot reportedly alerted air traffic control of a fire and "mechanical difficulties" and requested an emergency landing at Jeju International airport. The plane is believed to have crashed some nine minutes after the mayday call, plunging into the sea about 120kms (75 miles) west of Jeju airport. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot onboard have not yet been found. Asiana Airlines said the pilot, Choi Sang-ki, and co-pilot, Lee Jung-woong, were Korea Air Force Academy graduates who had logged more than 14,000 and 5,200 hours of flight time respectively. The airline said the flight was carrying cargo including lithium batteries, paint and other potentially dangerous materials, and added that the cargo was being carried in accordance with international aviation safety regulations. While it is not yet known if the fire caused the crash, lithium batteries are considered potentially dangerous on aircraft as they carry the risk of causing an onboard fire. Rescue teams are continuing to scour the wreckage area and will be looking for the plane's black box, containing the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. The accident is believed to be Asiana's first fatal crash since 1993. http://www.terminalu.com/travel-news/asiana-airlines-747-cargo-plane-crashes-off-south-korea-pilots- remain-missing/13142/ Back to Top Raw Video: Cargo Plane Search Off South Korea Raw Video: Cargo Plane Search Off South Korea Back to Top Accident Data: Status: Preliminary Date: 28 JUL 2011 Time: 04:12 Type: Boeing 747-48EF Operator: Asiana Airlines Registration: HL7604 C/n / msn: 29907/1370 First flight: 2006-02-15 (5 years 5 months) Engines: 4 General Electric CF6-80C2B1F Crew: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Passengers: Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 0 Total: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 Airplane damage: Destroyed Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair) Location: 112 km (70 mls) W off Jeju, South Korea [East China Sea] (Pacific Ocean) Phase: En route (ENR) Nature: Cargo Departure airport: Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN) (ICN/RKSI), South Korea Destination airport: Shanghai-Pudong International Airport (PVG) (PVG/ZSPD), China Flightnumber: 991 Narrative: A Boeing 747-400F cargo plane, HL7604, was destroyed when it crashed into the sea off Jeju, South Korea. Both pilots were killed in the accident. The flight departed Seoul-Incheon International Airport (ICN) at 03:05 on a cargo flight to Shanghai-Pudong International Airport (PVG), China. About one hour after take-off the crew radioed ATC that a fire had broken out in the hold and that the plane had to divert to Jeju. The plane carried 58 tonnes of cargo, including 0.4 tonnes of potentially risky materials such as lithium batteries, paint, amino acid solution and synthetic resin. Sources: » Korean Ministry of Transport » Flightglobal Statistics 52nd loss of a Boeing 747 24th worst accident involving a Boeing 747 (at the time) 24th worst accident involving a Boeing 747 (currently) 68th worst accident in Pacific Ocean (at the time) 68th worst accident in Pacific Ocean (currently) www.aviation-safety.net Curt Lewis, P.E., CSP CURT LEWIS & ASSOCIATES, LLC