Witnesses have described an Asiana Airlines plane smash at San Francisco's International Airport
- Asiana Airline flight crashed on landing at airport
- Two were killed and others are unaccounted for
- TV footage shows pieces of plan and debris on the tarmac
THE CEO of Asiana Airlines denies mechanical failure was to blame for San Francisco plane crash as it revealed the two passengers killed were two 16-year-olds girls from China.
The two young victims were named by Chinese state media as Ye Mengyuan and Wang Linjia, both 16 and students at Jiangshan Middle School in China's eastern Zhejiang province.
Of the 291 passengers on board, 141 were Chinese.
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Seoul crashed on landing at San Francisco International Airport, leaving 182 injured and terrified passengers running for their lives.
This aerial photo shows the wreckage of the Asiana Flight 214. Picture: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
The plane's tail "hit the runway and the aircraft veered to the left out of the runway,'' South Korea's transportation ministry said in a statement Sunday from Seoul.
Pictures showed the tail detached from the fuselage, and the landing gear had also sheared off.
This aerial photo shows the wreckage on the tarmac. Picture: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez
Passengers and crew fled the plane with just seconds to spare as smoke rose from the wreckage.
The two victims were found outside the plane, according to San Francisco fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White. "My understanding is that they were found on the runway," she said.
The Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 seen on the runway at San Francisco International Airport after crash landing. Picutre: AFP
The airport was closed immediately after the crash, but two runways later reopened. Some flights were diverted to Los Angeles.
Among those on board were 77 Koreans, 141 Chinese, 61 US citizens, and one Japanese national, Asiana said in a statement.
In Seoul, Asiana Airlines CEO Yoon Young-Doo said that there was nothing wrong with the airplane.
A fire truck sprays water on Asiana Flight 214 after it crashed at San Francisco International Airport. Picture: AP Photo/Noah Berger
"We purchased this airplane in March 2006... currently we understand that there are no engine or mechanical problems,'' he said at a press conference, adding that the two people killed were Chinese nationals.
San Francisco General Hospital said it was treating 34 patients, five of them in critical condition. Other patients had been taken to different hospitals in the area.
In total, 123 people aboard the flight were uninjured, US officials said.
An eyewitness photo captures the evacuation of passengers from the Asiana flight. Picture: David Eun/Twitter
Survivor Elliott Stone told CNN that as it came in to land, it appeared the plane "sped up, like the pilot knew he was short.''
"And then the back end just hit, and flies up in the air, and everybody's head goes up to the ceiling. And then it just kind of drifts for a little bit, for a good 300 yards and then tips over. Fire starts," he explained.
He said he was able to evacuate safely, sitting in the middle of the plane, but the flight attendants sitting in the back "got hammered - because we landed short.
This image courtesy of CBS affiliate KPIX, shows firefighters fighting a fire on an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777. Picture: AFP
"And then they all fell out - and it was just the most terrible thing I've seen," Stone said.
He said around 20 minutes after the crash, he and fellow passengers noticed "another five bodies like 457 metres away that nobody saw," adding they alerted emergency workers, but were frustrated at the response.
"We were yelling at people, yelling at firefighters. Get over here. They were just lagging hard. I don't know."
The tail of Asiana Flight 214 is seen, right, after it crashed at San Francisco International Airport. Picture: AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Flight 214 crashed while landing on runway 28 left at the airport at 11:26am local time, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Laura Brown said. She said the sequence of events was still unclear, but it appeared the Boeing 777 landed and then crashed.
LUCKY FEW WALKED AWAY UNHARMED
One passenger on Flight 214 posted a photograph of the plane on social media seconds after it landed, showing the emergency chutes deployed and passengers running away.
This photo provided by Zach Custer shows smoke rising from the plane. Picture: AP Photo/Zach Custer
"I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm OK. Surreal ...'' said passenger David Eun, in a posting to the Path social network.
Eun described the immediate aftermath, posting on the Path social media site, "Fire and rescue people all over the place. They're evacuating the injured. Haven't felt this way since 9/11. Trying to help people stay calm. Deep breaths..."
But he soon after posted a more reassuring message, saying "Lots of activity here. Friends, pls don't call right now. I'm fine. Most people are totally calm and trying to let the fire and rescue do their jobs. Just like during 9/11, most people are great and try to be helpful in crisis..."
Another survivor had an even more positive message, telling the Los Angeles Times "I just want their families to know, most of the people seem OK and we're just letting the paramedics do their job."
PLANE 'BELLYFLOPPED' ON RUNWAY
Multiple witnesses said the plane had approached the runway at an awkward angle, with some onlookers saying they heard a loud bang. Local TV station KTVU quoted witnesses as saying that the plane's tail appeared to sheer off as it was coming in to land.
"We saw it hit, the tail broke off almost immediately upon hitting what appeared to be the end of the runway. It kind of did a bellyflop landing," Jennifer Sorgen told CNN.
"There wasn't a huge explosion of fire, but this was definitely fire, lots of smoke."
An airplane mechanic who witnessed the crash from the airfield also saw the smoke.
"It landed straight, then went to the side and then all you saw was smoke coming off it," Adrian John Mirabueno told the San Francisco Chronicle. "I was scared for the families, and to tell the truth I've never seen anything like it."
Another onlooker said he did not see any fire before the plane hit the runway.
"You heard a pop and you immediately saw a large, brief fireball that came from underneath the aircraft," Anthony Castorani, who saw the flight land from a nearby hotel, told CNN. "It began to cartwheel."
Others clarified the plane went into a flat spin around on the ground, as opposed to flipping over.
Helicopter footage showed a trail of debris and blackened pavement starting from the seawall at the very edge of the runway to where the plane finally came to rest in the dirt between the runway and a taxiway.
A video clip posted to YouTube shows smoke coming from a silver-coloured 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 sprayed a white fire retardant on the wreckage. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team of investigators to San Francisco to probe the crash. NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said that NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman would head the team.
An FBI agent said there was no sign the crash was the result of a terror attack.
"At this point in time there is no indication of terrorism involved," said FBI special agent David Johnson.
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 Star 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, New York on February 12, 2009.
The crash killed all 49 people on board and one man in a house.
Flights are reportedly being prepared to resume at San Francisco International Airport.
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