Asiana Flight 214 Crashes in SFO

san franciscoThe Independence Day celebrations were marred by the crash of a Boeing 777 operated by Asiana Airlines. Two fatalities and many injured have been reported. Flight 214 originated at Seoul, South Korea destined for San Francisco. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) are probing the crash. 

"Everything is on the table at this point," said Deborah Hersman, chairman of the NTSB. Hersman said it is too early to say whether the crash resulted from pilot error, however. "We have to gather the facts before we reach any conclusions," she said, according to USA Today.

Kevin Hiatt, CEO of the Flight Safety Foundation, said based on past crashes investigators will likely provide daily briefings for a week with factual accounts of what is found and where their efforts are being focused.

Any conclusions about what caused the crash are likely months or years away, Hiatt told USA Today.

Boeing's 777 has been a relatively reliable aircraft, according to safety experts. Flight 214 was carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members when it crashed Saturday. The tail was torn off as it crashed, and it burst into flames.

ABC News reported the crash of the Boeing 777 resulted in two deaths and 181 injured people. Forty-nine patients are at area hospitals after surviving the crash. Eight patients remained in critical condition. 

In a statement Asiana expressed "sympathy and regret for the distress experienced by the passengers of OZ flight 214 and their families as a result of this accident. We apologize most deeply."

Asiana said flight OZ214 departed Incheon International Airport on July 6, 2013 at 16:35 (Korea time) bound for San Francisco. On July 6, 2013 at 11:27 (Local time) an accident occurred as OZ214 landed on San Francisco International Airport’s runway 28.

A total of 291 passengers were aboard the aircraft. (77 Koreans, 141 Chinese, 64 Americans, 3 Indians, 3 Canadians, 1 French, 1 Japanese and 1 Vietnamese).

Asiana said it has established emergency response centers to discover the cause of this crash and to look after injured passengers and contact their families. Asiana said it continues to actively cooperate with the Korean and US governmental institutions in the ongoing investigation.

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