Asiana 214 Crash at KSFO

[Palehorse]

Boeing 777  has crashed in San Francisco on landing. . . 

[Locutus]

Boeing 777  has crashed in San Francisco on landing. . . 

That's going to turn out to be some sort of pilot error.  I would almost bet the farm on it. 

As an aside, that's the first US crash of a commercial jet since 2009.  The ride in the car to the airport is still the most dangerous part of any plane trip.

[Palehorse]

That's going to turn out to be some sort of pilot error.  I would almost bet the farm on it. 

As an aside, that's the first US crash of a commercial jet since 2009.  The ride in the car to the airport is still the most dangerous part of any plane trip.

Apparently there was some sort of problem on the aircraft prior to landing, at least from what I have read. SFO had scrambled emergency personnel before touchdown. . .

[Palehorse]

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/07/06/sot-witness-from-hotel-emotional.ktvu.html

Here's an eyewitness account though, that seems to imply that the pilot was "too low, too soon", and that the landing gear collapsed.

[Locutus]

Apparently there was some sort of problem on the aircraft prior to landing, at least from what I have read. SFO had scrambled emergency personnel before touchdown. . .

I read that too but took it to mean that the controllers in the tower said that after the crash, not before.  I might be wrong though. 

[Locutus]

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2013/07/06/sot-witness-from-hotel-emotional.ktvu.html

Here's an eyewitness account though, that seems to imply that the pilot was "too low, too soon", and that the landing gear collapsed.

Now the question is, why would it have been "too low, too soon" as this witness described.  He described a very normal landing in progress right up to the last seconds of flight.

[Locutus]

Apparently there was some sort of problem on the aircraft prior to landing, at least from what I have read. SFO had scrambled emergency personnel before touchdown. . .

I read that too but took it to mean that the controllers in the tower said that after the crash, not before.  I might be wrong though. 

I was right.  That all happened after the crash.  Everything was normal up until it apparently hit the seawall.  The pilot accepted his landing clearance and didn't say anything about any issue.

[Locutus]

First 3 minutes of KSFO Tower feed from today's crash of Asiana 214 at the link below.  At the very beginning, the controller says, "Asiana 214 Heavy, San Francisco Tower, Runway two-eight left, clear to land."  The pilot then acknowledges.  Absolutely no indication of a problem.

Link

Audio is courtesy of the website LiveATC.net.

[Palehorse]

First 3 minutes of KSFO Tower feed from today's crash of Asiana 214 at the link below.  At the very beginning, the controller says, "Asiana 214 Heavy, San Francisco Tower, Runway two-eight left, clear to land."  The pilot then acknowledges.  Absolutely no indication of a problem.

Link

Yup. Pretty clear there. Had you bet the farm you'd have doubled it. . . Minus some mechanical issue or mis-calibration of navigational instrumentation, that pilot flew it into the ground! 

[Locutus]

 

But there's more.  This data is from Flight Aware of the last minutes of that flight:


time                                                                      k      mph AGL 
02:27PM    37.5988    -122.3270    299°    West    145    167    800    -1,380 Descending    FlightAware
02:27PM    37.6016    -122.3340    297°    West    141    162    600    -1,320 Descending    FlightAware
02:27PM    37.6045    -122.3410    298°    West    134    154    400    -900 Descending    FlightAware
02:27PM    37.6073    -122.3480    297°    West    123    142    300    -840 Descending    FlightAware
02:27PM    37.6103    -122.3550    298°    West    109    125    100    -120 Descending    FlightAware
02:28PM    37.6170    -122.3740    294°    West    85      98      200    120 Climbing    FlightAware

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAR214/history/20130706/0730Z/RKSI/KSFO/tracklog

[Palehorse]

 

But there's more.  This data is from Flight Aware of the last minutes of that flight:


time                                                                      k      mph AGL 
02:27PM    37.5988    -122.3270    299°    West    145    167    800    -1,380 Descending    FlightAware
02:27PM    37.6016    -122.3340    297°    West    141    162    600    -1,320 Descending    FlightAware
02:27PM    37.6045    -122.3410    298°    West    134    154    400    -900 Descending    FlightAware[/b]
02:27PM    37.6073    -122.3480    297°    West    123    142    300    -840 Descending    FlightAware
02:27PM    37.6103    -122.3550    298°    West    109    125    100    -120 Descending    FlightAware
02:28PM    37.6170    -122.3740    294°    West    85      98      200    120 Climbing    FlightAware

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AAR214/history/20130706/0730Z/RKSI/KSFO/tracklog

Holy hell! Pretty obvious when he hit the seawall by that! 

[Locutus]

Holy hell! Pretty obvious when he hit the seawall by that! 

The minimum V(ref) for the Boeing triple-7 is 113 kts in a landing configuration.  The speeds go up from there depending on weight, but that's the absolute minimum.  He was below that at 109 kts, and well below it at the 85 kts when he apparently applied power and tried to climb.  It would appear to me that the aircraft was stalling because it was going too slow; the gear clips the seawall because of it; the rest is history.

But we'll have to wait for the NTSB. 

[Palehorse]

The minimum V(ref) for the Boeing triple-7 is 113 kts in a landing configuration.  The speeds go up from there depending on weight, but that's the absolute minimum.  He was below that at 109 kts, and well below it at the 85 kts when he apparently applied power and tried to climb.  It would appear to me that the aircraft was stalling because it was going too slow; the gear clips the seawall because of it; the rest is history.

But we'll have to wait for the NTSB. 

Wouldn't he have received a stall warning at those speeds though? Or shouldn't he have?  I took his application of power to be a response to the landing gear hitting the wall. (But there is a reason I am not a pilot). 

[Palehorse]

That jackwagon won't be flying a kite after this one. 

[Locutus]

Wouldn't he have received a stall warning at those speeds though? Or shouldn't he have?  I took his application of power to be a response to the landing gear hitting the wall. (But there is a reason I am not a pilot). 

There should have been a stall indication, but you stall a heavy Boeing-777 that close to the ground, there's not a hell of a lot you're going to be able to do about it.  There's just not enough time to recover.