Boeing 777 crashes in landing at San Francisco airport
Plane can carry up to 300 passengers, according to South Korean airline
CBC News
Posted: Jul 6, 2013 3:24 PM ET
An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 passenger jet has crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
The Reuters wire service, citing a South Korean diplomat, reported that one person was killed and between 20 and 30 people injured in the crash. Reuters said the flight contained 292 passengers and 16 crew members. Those figures were cited from South Korea's state news agency, Yonhap.
Firefighters and rescue crews were on the scene, spraying the burning jet with white foam. Aerial images broadcast by local news station KTVU showed the blackened wreckage on the tarmac, apparently with its tail broken off and top fuselage ripped open.
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was travelling from Seoul, South Korea, when it apparently landed and then crashed, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.
In a video clip posted to YouTube and purportedly showing the crashed plane, smoke can be seen billowing from a silver-coloured jet on the tarmac. Passengers could reportedly be seen jumping down inflatable emergency slides.
Krista Seiden witnessesd the disaster from a window while waiting to board her own flight at the airport. She told CBC News she was about 400 or 500 yards away from the wreckage.
"It was really scary. I immediately was very concerned for everybody on board the plane; I was trying to get a good line of sight," Seiden said.
"It didn't look like it had a tail; it looked like the tail had come off," she added.
Another witness, Stephanie Turner, told ABC News it appeared as if the plane "cartwheeled" after it touched down.
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 Saturday that NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman would head the team.