Flight Safety Information July 9, 2013 - No. 139 In This Issue Feds hope to learn more from 4 pilots aboard jet that crashed in San Francisco Unusual pattern of spine injuries from jet crash Asiana flight attendant, last person off jet, describes ordeal South Korea to toughen rules on pilots shifting to new jets Lesson in Air Safety: 90 Seconds to Get Out Role of aircraft automation eyed in air crash Japan Airlines Boeing 777 jet returns to Tokyo after hydraulic system leak 2013 Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar - Dallas, July 23-24, 2013 Think ARGUS PROS Asiana Crash: Plane Was 34 Knots Below Target Speed, NTSB Says Asiana flight attendants hailed as heroes India's civilian aircraft plan expected to get nod Boeing 777 has strong safety record, experts say Feds hope to learn more from 4 pilots aboard jet that crashed in San Francisco Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have spent a second day on the runway at San Francisco International Airport looking at the remains of Asiana flight 214. On Monday, the investigation focused on what was happening in the cockpit just before the crash. NBC's Tom Costello reports. Federal investigators said Monday they hope to learn much more from interviews with the four pilots aboard the jetliner that crash-landed at the San Francisco airport, and they said the aircraft was still 500 feet in the air - much too high - when it slowed to touchdown speed. Two days after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 scraped across the runway and caught fire, killing two teenagers and injuring 180 passengers, the investigators gave no indication of mechanical or external problems, suggesting the cockpit holds vital clues. "We're looking at what they were doing, and we want to understand why they were doing it," said Deborah Hersman, head of the National Transportation Safety Board. "We want to understand what they knew and what they understood." Investigators continue to gather clues to explain why a South Korean jetliner failed to land safely at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. NBC's John Yang reports. She told reporters she hoped to have much more detail about the crash Tuesday, after the interviews with the four pilots. The plane crossed the Pacific Ocean from Seoul, South Korea, and transoceanic flights often have extra pilots. The two teenagers killed were Chinese girls on their way to summer camp in the United States. Authorities are investigating whether a fire truck ran over one of them as it it raced to help. They gave little information on that probe Monday, but they did say the girls were seated toward the back of the plane. "This is an area of the aircraft that was structurally significantly damaged," Hersman said. "It's an area where we're seeing a lot of the critical of serious injuries." San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault told NBC Bay Area on Sunday that his office was alerted by the San Francisco Fire Department "that a fire truck may have played a role in the death of one of the girls." But Monday, he said he was withholding the results of their autopsies "at least two or three weeks" pending completion of the full investigation. Foucrault said that he made the decision independently and that neither city officials nor federal accident investigators asked him to postpone releasing the information, NBC Bay Area reported. Investigators will look to make sure the crew understood the automated equipment on the aircraft, a Boeing 777, and will also look for signs of fatigue, illness or other health problems. Asiana said Monday that the captain was still training on the 777 and was landing one at San Francisco International for the first time. The plane apparently clipped a seawall before reaching the tarmac. Pieces of the plane were found among the rocks of the seawall and in the waters of San Francisco Bay, Hersman said. Hersman also revealed a detailed timeline showing that the plane had already slowed below its target speed for landing when it was at 500 feet more than 30 seconds from touching down. Moments before landing, the plane had slowed to about 119 mph - roughly 40 mph slower than it should have been going. Investigators said Sunday that the plane's "stick shaker" function, which physically rattles the manual controls to alert the pilot to a possible stall, activated with four seconds left in the flight. By that point, there was little the pilots could do, aviation experts told NBC News. During a stall at higher altitudes, pilots are supposed to add power and point the nose of the plane down to pick up airspeed and stabilize the plane. But with four seconds to go, pointing the nose down would have meant hitting the runway with it, and in any case there wasn't enough time left to gun the engines to full power for stability, the experts said. "He was simply too low," said J.F. Joseph, a retired Marine colonel who has been involved in hundreds of aircraft accident and incident investigations. "He ran out of airspeed, altitude and ideas at the same time. You're simply out of options." National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman says investigators are focusing on the crew and aircraft as they try to understand why the giant jet clipped the end of runway before crashing. Hersman said, however, that published reports suggesting the plane was dropping at 4,000 feet per second were false and that there was no evidence of an "abnormally steep descent." 777's first fatalities The deaths were the first in the 18 years that the 777 has been in service. As the investigation moved forward, police and firefighters who were part of the emergency response described what they said was a surreal scene as they helped the last passengers to safety and put out the fire. They described members of the Asiana crew begging officers to toss them knives so they could free passengers. San Francisco police Lt. Gaetano Caltagirone recalled seeing his partner, Officer Jim Cunningham, tearing away parts of the plane to widen an exit for rescues. "He's handing me seat panels. We're throwing them outside," he said. "There was so much chaos going on, and it was quiet. Everybody was doing what they were trained to do - save lives. And way beyond." Asiana identified the pilot as Lee Kang-kuk and said he had logged 43 hours flying the 777 over nine flights. It takes 60 hours and 10 flights to be considered fully qualified, the airline told NBC News. When a pilot learns a new type of aircraft, the status before full qualification is known as transition training. Lee had 9,700 hours of experience flying other jetliners - the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737 and 747, Asiana said. The co-pilot had more than 3,000 hours on the 777, a twin-engine, wide-body jet, the airline said. Asked on TODAY whether the pilot's inexperience landing the 777 at that airport might have been a factor, Hersman said investigators would consider it, but she added that it's not unusual for pilots to make their first landing at an airport. "They fly all around the world. There are a lot of different destinations," she said. "What you want to do is have a crew that's proficient in the aircraft and works together well, that you have good crew pairings. That's important." http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/08/19348114-feds-hope-to-learn-more-from-4-pilots-aboard- jet-that-crashed-in-san-Francisco Back to Top Unusual pattern of spine injuries from jet crash (AP) Many survivors of Saturday's plane crash in San Francisco have a surprising pattern of spine injuries that a doctor says shows how violently they were shaken despite wearing seat belts. So far, two people are unable to move their legs - doctors don't yet know if the damage is permanent - and several others have needed surgery to stabilize their spines so they can move, said Dr. Geoffrey Manley, neurosurgery chief at San Francisco General Hospital who is overseeing their care. Among the worst injuries are crushed vertebrae that compress the spinal cord, and ligaments so stretched and torn that they can't hold neck and back joints in place, Manley said in an interview Monday. That 305 of the 307 passengers and crew of the Asiana jet survived the crash is remarkable, and a testimony to improvements in airline safety in recent years. More than 180 people went to hospitals with injuries, but only a small number were critically injured. Still, Manley said even among those who suffered mild spine trauma, he is struck by a pattern that shows how their upper bodies were flung forward and then backward over the lap belts that kept them in their seats and undoubtedly saved their lives. The injuries are somewhat reminiscent of the days before shoulder belts in cars, although much more severe, said Dr. David Okonkwo of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, who isn't involved with the survivors' care. Does that mean shoulder belts in airplanes would prevent such injuries? Okonkwo said that's simplistic considering how much more speed and force are involved in a plane crash. Shoulder belts might just transfer that force to the neck, he cautioned. "If you put in the shoulder belt, it might just move the injuries up further. Your head weighs a tremendous amount," agreed San Francisco's Manley. He hopes to study the issue, comparing survivors' injuries to where they sat. The airline industry says adding three-point seatbelts to airplanes would require major changes to seat design that would mean higher airfares and less comfort. Some business class seats have added a type of shoulder restraint, but those seats are more like beds and often don't face forward. Meanwhile, Okonkwo said assuming the "crash position" - leaning forward with the head as far down as possible and arms over it - can limit the spine jolting back and forth and offer some protection. It's not clear if any survivors of Saturday's crash had time to do so. Back to Top Asiana flight attendant, last person off jet, describes ordeal Lee Yoon-hye Flight attendant Lee Yoon-hye was the last to leave the wreckage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 after it crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. A flight attendant who was the last to leave the burning wreckage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 described the harrowing moments after the Boeing 777 crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. Cabin manger Lee Yoon-hye said right before the plane hit the runway, she felt the plane trying to take off again, before she felt a massive impact, followed by another "great big jolt." The plane then shook left and right, Lee recalled at a Sunday night news conference with Korean reporters. Lee, 40, said she rushed into the cockpit to check if the pilots were alive, and when they said they were OK, asked if she should evacuate the flight. She was initially instructed to hold off, and she made repeat announcements asking passengers to remain calm, recalled Lee, who has worked for Asiana for 18 years. "Then I heard, 'Evacuate!'" Lee said, speaking matter-of-factly in Korean. "After that, we followed our training, and began yelling 'Emergency evacuation!' and proceeded to evacuate the plane." As the crew scrambled to get passengers off the plane, the evacuation slide on the first exit to the right side of the plane inflated inward, pinning a flight attendant and nearly suffocating her, Lee said. One of the pilots rushed into the cockpit to get a "crash ax" to deflate the slide, as Lee led passengers off the plane through doors on the left. Lee said she proceeded toward the back of the plane, evacuating people through exit one, then exit two on the left side of the plane. Near the third and last exit were many Chinese passengers, who didn't seem to realize what was going on, she said. "They were doing other things. I yelled at them to hurry outside, 'Go! Go! Go that way!'" she said. Three passengers remained in the back, including a woman who appeared to have badly injured her leg and was unable to slide down the exit on her own. Lee said she helped the passengers up to the second door, where they exited with the help of another flight attendant. A pilot carried out the woman with the leg injury. It was then that flames erupted around row 10 on the right side of the plane, and she heard screams from a colleague asking her to save her life. A second slide had inflated inward near the flames, pinning a flight attendant's leg. "I grabbed a knife passengers had eaten with from a cart and handed it to the co-pilot, and he punctured it," Lee said. NTSB officials said they are investigating what happened with the emergency chutes. Lee then grabbed a fire extinguisher and handed it to the co-pilot who tried to put out the flame. The co-pilot evacuated with the flight attendant whose leg was pinned. Lee said she tried to check the back of the plane one last time before exiting herself, but it seemed like the top of the cabin was falling in and the rear of the plane was obscured in black smoke, almost as if there was a wall. "My first priority was getting the passengers evacuated from the aircraft," she said. It was only later, at the hospital, that she realized she had broken her tailbone during the crash. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-asiana-flight-attendant-20130708,0,3708058.story Back to Top South Korea to toughen rules on pilots shifting to new jets SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is considering tightening regulations for pilots seeking certification to convert to flying new aircraft after the fatal crash of an Asiana Boeing 777 plane in San Francisco, a government source said on Tuesday. Asiana Airlines Inc's chief executive also said on Tuesday the carrier plans to beef up simulated "non-precision airport approach" training as the role of its pilots on the crash comes under increasing scrutiny. The Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 was flying 25 percent slower than normal for a descent in the run-up to Saturday's crash, according to U.S. National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman. Lee Kang-kuk, the pilot at the controls of Asiana's 214 flight to San Francisco, was training on Boeing 777s, and was making his first attempt to land the jet at San Francisco airport. His supervisor was making his first flight as a trainer. "This accident made us rethink our regulations policy," the government official dealing with aviation regulations told Reuters. "We are already reviewing various measures and gathering information to tighten regulations (on issuing type certification to pilots converting to a new aircraft)," the source said. The person declined to be named as the plan has yet to be finalized. The crash killed two teenage Chinese passengers and injured more than 180 other people. Seoul has tightened aviation regulations since a plane belonging to flagship carrier Korean Air crashed in Guam in 1997, killing 228 people and later prompting a downgrade of South Korea's aviation rating by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to category 2. The rating was restored to Category 1 in December 2001, enabling Korean carriers to open new routes, which they were not allowed to do under the lower category. The government source said South Korea will also widen inspection to include more long-haul flights and routes to overseas airports such as San Francisco. "From this year, we've started a new program that includes our inspector join(ing) the cockpit to monitor pilots' operation to long-haul destinations and 13 airports with tricky landing environment such as San Francisco," the source said. San Francisco airport is surrounded by water, which can make distances harder to judge. TRAINING PROGRAMME SEEN ADEQUATE Asiana chief executive Yoon Young-doo has refused to blame pilot error for the crash and said on Tuesday: "The two pilots on the plane have enough qualifications, having flown to San Francisco 33 times and 29 times respectively." However, he added that Asiana planned to strengthen simulated training, especially for non-precision airport approach, referring to a visual landing, as was used by the flight on Saturday. Lee, the pilot under training, was experienced, with almost 10,000 hours flying time. Currently Asiana pilots have to fly 10 flights and a total of 60 hours on a 777 to complete its training program, a spokeswoman for the airline said. Lee had completed eight flights and 43 hours. His round-trip to San Francisco would have given him the remaining 2 flights and 17 hours to make him fully qualified to fly the double-engine jet. Landing is part of the training program and it is common practise for pilots in training to land under supervision as part of the type certification process. Jung Yun-sick, a former Asiana pilot and now a professor at Jungwon University, told Reuters that any new measures were unlikely to increase the number of training hours for pilots trying to shift to a new aircraft. "The requirement used to be 60 flights of a total of 100 hours some 15 years ago when I was with Asiana," he said. "It was quite intensive at the time as they didn't have much data on what is really appropriate level of training. But now they have enough data for this and the current level is what is generally accepted globally." http://news.yahoo.com/south-korea-toughen-rules-pilots-shifting-jets-090450133.html Back to Top Lesson in Air Safety: 90 Seconds to Get Out It took only about 90 seconds to get everyone off Asiana Flight 214, which was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew. Not likely, said Leslie Mayo, a flight attendant for over 26 years. Instead, that flight attendant is probably mentally running through "the 30-second review that's been drilled into our heads," she said. "If you see some of us just sitting there looking out into space, we're probably actually reviewing those safety procedures. You're assessing the cabin. You're thinking, if there's an evacuation, who are my assistants going to be? Who's going to be the most helpful and calm in a situation where you really need help from passengers?" said Ms. Mayo, who is also a spokeswoman for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents more than 16,000 American Airlines flight attendants. As investigators work to determine the cause (or, more likely, causes) of the crash of Asiana Flight 214 that killed two and injured 180 at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, people with expertise in aviation safety, or with personal experience in aviation disasters, have been shaking their heads in wonder. How could so many have evacuated that airplane alive? And what can be learned about aviation safety from this incident? Asiana flight attendants have won wide praise for their performance. Ms. Mayo and others are amazed that it took only about 90 seconds to get everyone off that plane, which was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew. The evacuation was also aided by some passengers who by and large remained calm on an airplane that was on fire, filled with smoke, its tail section broken off, with several of its emergency evacuation slides malfunctioning. For passengers, some basic lessons were firmly reinforced. These include following crew members' instructions in an emergency and the overall importance of what the safety experts call situational awareness. Routinely, on any flight, we should know exactly where those exit doors are that the flight attendants keep trying to point out during the usually ignored safety demonstrations. We should be asking ourselves, if an emergency occurred what would I do? If I'm in or near an exit row, can I open that door? Other reinforced lessons were the importance of cabin-design safety, an initiative that has helped to sharply reduce accident casualties. "It's a testament to some of the safety features that have been designed into new airplanes that so many people were able to walk away on Saturday," said Matt Ziemkiewicz, president of the National Air Disaster Alliance Foundation. Still, as Mr. Ziemkiewicz and others pointed out, new questions are arising about some design features on the wide-body Boeing 777 that crashed on Saturday. Among the things that the National Transportation Safety Board will be looking closely at is whether some coach-cabin seats came off their tracks or sustained unacceptable damage on impact, and why two of the inflatable emergency slides apparently opened inside the cabin, pinning several people before crew members found an ax to deflate the slides. "There is something to be learned from every crash," said Mr. Ziemkiewicz, whose sister Jill was a flight attendant who died in the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996. So how about those images of passengers on the Asiana plane who slid to safety toting their carry-on bags and other possessions - against all standard protocols? "I was surprised, and maybe a bit appalled, by the photos and footage of people leaving the plane with their carry-ons," said Patrick Smith, an airline pilot who flies internationally and blogs at Askthepilot.com. "This is something we've seen in several emergency evacuations in recent years. "But lugging a carry-on bag down the aisle during an emergency evacuation, when seconds can mean the difference between life and death, is reckless, endangering not just your own life, but the lives of people behind you. Those escape slides are much steeper and higher off the ground than it looks on television. They are designed to get a planeload of people out of, and away from, the aircraft as quickly as possible - without their belongings." Ms. Mayo had the same reaction at seeing so many bags piled up in San Francisco. "There were two boxes of duty-free alcohol next to two passengers as they were staring at the wreckage," she said. "I was looking at that and going, how in the world did they get that past a flight attendant? I'll tell you, nobody would have got that past me." The main lesson I would take away from the Asiana crash is this: Flight attendants have a lot of jobs, some of them irksome, but the main job is safety. Attention must be paid. Consider Lee Yoon-hye, the lead flight attendant on Asiana Flight 214. Ms. Lee, who had a broken tailbone, fought flames and helped usher people to the functioning emergency slides. She watched another flight attendant piggyback a young child through the smoke. "I was only thinking about rescuing the next passenger," she said at a news conference on Sunday. She was the last person to leave the wreckage of the plane. And that's the way it works, Ms. Mayo said. "Have you ever heard of an accident where the flight attendants jumped out first?" she asked. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/09/business/a-lesson-in-air-safety-out-in-90-seconds.html?_r=0 Back to Top Role of aircraft automation eyed in air crash The wreckage of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that crashed upon landing Saturday at San Francisco International Airport sits on the tarmac Monday, July 8, 2013 in San Francisco. Investigators said the Boeing 777 was traveling "significantly below" the target speed during its approach and that the crew tried to abort the landing just before it smashed onto the runway on Saturday, July 6. Two of the 307 passengers aboard were killed. BY: JOAN LOWY WASHINGTON (AP) - The crash landing of a South Korean airliner in San Francisco has revived concerns that airline pilots get so little opportunity these days to fly without the aid of sophisticated automation that their stick-and-rudder skills are eroding. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the accident, is a long way from reaching a conclusion as to its probable cause. While the focus of their investigation could still shift, information released by the board thus far appears to point to pilot error. What is known is that Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed short of its target runway Saturday at San Francisco International Airport in broad daylight under near ideal weather conditions. The Boeing 777's engines are still being examined, but they appear to have been operating normally. And the flight's pilots didn't report any mechanical issues or other problems. But the plane was traveling far too slowly in the last half-minute before the crash, slow enough to trigger an automated warning of an impending aerodynamic stall. The wide-bodied jet should have been traveling at 158 mph as it crossed the runway threshold. Instead, the speed dropped to as low as 118 mph before the plane struck a rocky seawall short of the runway. The plane careened briefly and then pancaked down. Two of the 307 people on board were killed, and dozens more injured. The pilot, Lee Gang-guk, had a lot of flying experience but was still new to the plane, having clocked only 43 hours at the controls. He was supposed to be flying under the supervision of another experienced pilot. There were two more pilots on board the Seoul-to-San Francisco flight, as is typical on long flights during which two pilots rest while two fly, and then swap out. Lee was also flying without the aid of a key part of the airport's instrument landing system, which provides pilots with a glide slope to follow so that the plane isn't too high or low. He was also new to the airport, having never landed there before. And he was manually flying the plane with the autopilot shut off, which other pilots said is not unusual in the last stage of a landing, although some airlines prefer that their pilots use automated landing systems. Still unclear is whether the auto throttle, which regulates fuel to the engines to control speed, was shut off or perhaps unintentionally left in an idle mode. That might account for the slow speed, but it wouldn't explain why the pilots didn't recognize their peril and act in time to avoid the crash, pilots and aviation safety experts said. Investigators have started interviewing the flight's four pilots, and hope to wrap up those interviews Tuesday. Procedures at most airlines would require all four pilots be present in the cockpit during the landing, which is the most critical phase of flight, pilots said. The NTSB hasn't disclosed whether all four were present. "It sounds like they let the airplane get slow and it came out from under them," said John Cox, a former Air Line Pilots Association air crash investigator. "When airplanes are very slow like that, even if they are not stalled, they can develop a sink rate that it takes a lot of power to arrest." Rory Kay, a training captain for a major airline who flies internationally, said, "We're all wondering the same thing - why no reaction?" Overall, automation has also been a boon to aviation safety, providing a consistent precision that humans can't duplicate. But pilots and safety officials have expressed concern in recent years that pilots' "automation addiction" has eroded their flying skills to the point that they sometimes don't know how to recover from stalls and other problems. Dozens of accidents in which planes stalled in flight or got into unusual positions from which pilots were unable to recover have occurred in recent years. "If your last dozen landings were autopilot landings and here you are faced with nothing but visual (cues) to deal with, your rust factor would be greater," said Cass Howell, a former military pilot and human factors expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. "Too much automation can undermine your flying skills." ___ Follow Joan Lowy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AP_Joan_Lowy Back to Top Japan Airlines Boeing 777 jet returns to Tokyo after hydraulic system leak TOKYO - A Japan Airlines Boeing 777 bound for San Francisco returned to Tokyo early Tuesday after a warning flashed in the cockpit saying the jet's hydraulic fluid level was low. The plane carrying 236 passengers and 13 crew had departed around midnight and returned about four hours later to Tokyo's Haneda airport. Passengers boarded another plane that departed for San Francisco and arrived there safely early Tuesday local time, a company spokesman said. Mechanics found a leak in the hydraulic system of the plane that returned to Tokyo. The incident happened after an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash-landed Saturday in San Francisco, killing two. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the Asiana accident, has yet to reach a conclusion about its probable cause. While the focus of their investigation could still shift, information released by the board so far appears to point to pilot error. www.washingtonpost.com/business/japan-airlines-boeing-777-returns-to-tokyo-after-low-hydraulic- warning/2013/07/09/191eedf0-e87c-11e2-818e-aa29e855f3ab_story.html Back to Top 2013 Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar - Dallas, July 23-24, 2013 Just under a month until the 2013 Aviation Human Factors and SMS Seminar in Dallas, July 23-24 at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, from 8-5 each day. The seminar fee is $100. Please RSVP if you plan to attend. We have a great speaker lineup, entertaining venue and a chance to share best practices with your fellow professionals. FMI: http://www.signalcharlie.net/Seminar+2013 Registration: http://www.signalcharlie.net/Seminar+Registration+2013 Kent B. Lewis (850) 449-4841 www.signalcharlie.net Back to Top Back to Top Asiana Crash: Plane Was 34 Knots Below Target Speed, NTSB Says National Transportation Safety Board head Deborah Hersman speaks at a news conference in San Francisco on Monday. Three seconds before it struck the ground Saturday, the speed of Asiana Airlines Flight 214, a Boeing 777, was 103 knots - the lowest measured by its data recorders, and far below the target speed of 137 knots, says National Transportation Board Chairman Deborah Hersman. The crash-landing at San Francisco International Airport left two passengers dead and more than 180 people injured, as Mark reported for The Two-Way this morning. NTSB investigators are interviewing the plane's four pilots today, Hersman said at a midday news briefing Monday. She confirmed that the pilot who was at the controls as the plane made its approach "was working on getting his rating on the 777" and was flying with a training captain. Another set of pilots was also on the flight, as is common on long international trips, she said. More information about the pilots would likely be available at Tuesday's planned briefing, Hersman says. As for reports that one of the Chinese teenagers who died in the accident Saturday might have been hit by an emergency response vehicle on the tarmac, Hersman says, "We are still looking at this issue. ... The coroner has not yet determined the cause of death." An initial review of video from the scene "wasn't conclusive," she says. Here are more details she discussed Monday: The crew had flown in on a 17-mile straight approach, heading to San Francisco from the air over Sacramento. Radar data shows "no abnormally steep descent curve" in what has been reviewed. Evaluations show "that both of the engines were producing power" when the craft hit the ground. The No. 2 engine showed "evidence of high rotation" at the point of impact. Lower portion of the tail cone is in the rocks at the sea wall before the runway. Debris from the sea wall was found "several hundred feet" up the runway. The impact occurred about 82 seconds after autopilot was disabled. At 200 feet, the plane's airspeed was approximately 118 knots. Three seconds before impact, the craft's speed was 103 knots - the lowest measured, and far below the target speed of 137 knots. When it struck, it had accelerated to 106 knots. The call to abort the landing and go around again, made seconds before the crash, is heard in the cockpit, but it wasn't made to the control tower. Investigators are looking into reports that at least one emergency ramp may have deployed inside the aircraft. Fuel samples have been taken for testing. Flight and data recorders will be transcribed and reviewed for both verbal statements, as well as sounds made by the aircraft. There is a mix of English and Korean spoken on the voice recorders. "There are 1,400 different parameters that are measured" by the flight data recorder. The plane involved had not been involved in previous problems or incidents. One group of investigators will focus on how the plane performed only during the flight and approach, using videos of the crash-landing as well as evidence from the runway area. Other analysts will be looking at how the plane came apart when it struck the ground, reviewing what pieces broke off, and which elements remained attached. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/07/08/200086858/asiana-crash-plane-was-34-knots-below- target-speed-ntsb-says Back to Top Asiana flight attendants hailed as heroes Hong Kong (CNN) -- Veteran flight attendant Lee Yoon Hye sensed something was awry as Flight 214 neared the San Francisco International Airport runway. As the plane was supposed to land, it rose briefly as if it was trying to lift off again. Lee had worked 18 years with Asiana Airlines and on Saturday, her skills were tested. The plane slammed down with "great impact," said Lee, who sat in the front. "It was even more than a hard landing," Lee, 40, said. The plane teetered left and right. After striking the edge of the runway at San Francisco International Airport, the Boeing 777 tumbled into the ground, igniting flames and a trail of smoke. Its tail splintered off and parts of the plane peeled off as it skidded into the earth. When the aircraft finally stopped, she noticed that the emergency inflatable slide located at the right side of the front door had deployed inside the plane. Witnesses say the overhead bins dropped open. Hailed as a hero who ushered passengers out of the Asiana plane, Lee was one of the 12 flight attendants on Flight 214. She calmly described the chaotic minutes of the Asiana plane crash. Dressed in her airline uniform, her name tag pinned to her jacket and her hair in the airline's trademark bun, she addressed Korean journalists gathered in San Francisco earlier this week. According to the airline, flight attendants helped passengers get off the plane safely. They opened doors, deployed slides and helped passengers escape, according to JoongAng Daily, a South Korean newspaper. As soon as the plane stopped, Lee knocked on the cockpit door to make sure the pilots were OK. The captain opened the door. "Are you OK, Captain?" she asked. "Yes, I am OK," he replied. "Should I perform the evacuation?" she asked. He told her to wait, she recalled. Lee made an announcement to assure increasingly agitated passengers, telling them that the plane had come to a complete stop. Once evacuation began, Lee said she had a plan. "I was not thinking, but acting," she said. "As soon as I heard 'emergency escape,' I conducted the evacuation." "When there was a fire, I was just thinking to extinguish it, not thinking that it's too dangerous or 'What am I going to do?'" Asiana flight attendants undergo three months of training including emergencies and terrorist training before their first flight. Lee said she saw her colleagues jump into action to help passengers and injured crew even as a fire burned in the back of the airplane. They popped the first emergency slide that had deployed inside with an ax to free a crew member who was struggling to breathe underneath its weight. Another emergency slide in the back trapped another crew member and was deflated with a kitchen knife, Lee said according to South Korean news station YTN. One shaken elementary school-aged boy was afraid to go down the emergency slide, but one of the flight attendants lifted him on her back and escaped with him, Lee said. Earlier this week, Eugene Rah, who was flying his 173rd flight on Asiana Air, told CNN that he saw a 100- pound flight attendant carrying the injured on her back. Lee said she was the last to leave the plane. And she glanced back. "The ceiling was coming down and I felt like something was dragging the plane. Behind me I couldn't see, because it looked like there was a wall." She had no idea the tail had snapped off or how the plane would be nearly engulfed in flames moments after they had escaped. Two teenagers, both 16, died in the crash. The rest who were on board escaped: 305 of them. http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/09/world/asia/asiana-flight-attendant/index.html Back to Top India's civilian aircraft plan expected to get nod India`s civilian aircraft plan expected to get nod New Delhi: India's dream project of building mid-size civilian aircraft is expected to get a nod tomorrow at a high-level meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss measures to boost the manufacturing sector. The meeting of the High Level Committee on Manufacturing will also discuss ways to boost steel production and textile exports besides the launch of pilot project on electric and hybrid vehicles for Delhi. One of the most crucial decisions expected at the meeting is the go-ahead for the preparatory work on building a mid- size civilian aircraft having medium range, sources said. India`s civilian aircraft plan expected to get nod The proposal to build an indigenous 90-seater aircraft has been in the pipeline for a number of years. According to the proposal, the design and development of the aircraft is expected to cost Rs 4,355 crore and series production would entail further expenditure of Rs 3,200 crore. The aircraft is to be built through a collaborative venture of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and DRDO. It will be take some years to be ready for flight. India`s civilian aircraft plan expected to get nod Earlier, Bangalore-based NAL had earlier developed India's first multi purpose 14-seater civilian aircraft Saras. But on March 6, 2009, two IAF test pilots along with a flight test engineer were killed when the second prototype crashed 30 km from Bangalore. The meeting is also expected to finalise an action plan to develop production capacity in advanced alloys and composites. A pilot project on electric and hybrid vehicles for Delhi is also expected to be worked out. The meeting will also deliberate on a plan to boost textile industry and exports, given the price advantages India has in this sector. PTI http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/india-s-civilian-aircraft-plan-expected-to-get-nod_860827.html Back to Top Boeing 777 has strong safety record, experts say Boeing 777-300ER The crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday is the first accident involving a Boeing 777 involving passenger fatalities, CBS News aviation and safety analyst Capt. Chesley Sullenberger said Saturday. The crash is only the second major accident for the twin-engine, wide-bodied jet in the 18 years the model has been in service, aviation safety experts said. "The 777 has a fantastic record," said Tom Haueter, who retired last year from the National Transportation Safety Board, where he was the head of aviation accident investigations. According to the Wall Street Journal, prior to Saturday's deadly crash, the 777 had been one of the few long- range jets from Boeing and Airbus to have never recorded a fatality. In 2001, a member of the ground crew at Denver International Airport was fatally injured in an incident involving a 777, but the Asiana Airlines crash is the first involving passenger fatalities, according to the Aviation Safety Network. Commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven," the 777 is a long-range jet designed primarily for extended flights over water. The plane that crashed in San Francisco was coming from Seoul, South Korea. The 777 had its first flight in 1994 and was introduced into service in 1995. As of last month, Boeing had delivered more than 1,100 of the planes to airlines around the world. According to the Boeing website, since the airplane was first introduced into service 18 years ago, the 777 has flown almost 5 million flights and accumulated more than 18 million flight hours. The previous accident involving a 777 occurred on Jan. 17, 2008, at London's Heathrow Airport. In the process of landing, British Airways Flight 38 from China landed hard about 1,000 feet short of the runway and then slid onto the runway. The impact broke the 777-200's landing gear. There were 47 injuries, but no fatalities. An investigation revealed ice pellets had formed in the fuel while the plane was flying at high altitudes, clogging the fuel-oil heat exchanger. As a result, fuel was blocked from reaching both of the plane's engines. The Rolls-Royce Trent 800 series engines that were used on the plane were fixed afterward to prevent similar problems. Bill Waldock, an expert on aviation accident investigation, said he was reminded of the 2008 Heathrow accident as he watched video of Saturday's crash in San Francisco. The Asiana 777 "was right at the landing phase and for whatever reason the landing went wrong," said Waldock, director of the Embry-Riddle University accident investigation laboratory in Prescott, Ariz. "For whatever reason, they appeared to go low on approach and then the airplane pitched up suddenly to an extreme attitude, which could have been the pilots trying to keep it out of the ground." Waldock cautioned: "Of course, there is no indication directly that's what happened here. That's what the investigation is going to have to find out." While the two accidents appear to have occurred about the point in landing, "you can't rule out anything thing at this point," Haueter said. "I think it's someone who got slow and low on the approach, quite frankly, but we won't know anything until we see the flight data recorder," he said. Haueter said was doubtful the Asiana accident will be linked to the same icing problem as that caused the British Airways accident since changes were made after that crash to prevent further incidents. "Most accidents happen during takeoff and landing anyway," he said. Safety improvements to planes in recent years -- better fire-proofing of passenger cabins and reinforcements to fuel systems -- may have prevented the San Francisco accident from becoming much worse, Waldock said. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57592543/boeing-777-has-strong-safety-record-experts-say/ Curt Lewis