Asiana Flight 214 tragedy is caused by pilot error

World Today

Last July Asiana airlines flight 214 “left” Seoul bound for San Francisco but crashed in the final moments of flight. Two teenagers from China died in the crash and third died after she was run over by rescue vehicles on the runway. After a nearly year-long investigation, the US National Transportation Safety Board has finally determined what caused the crash. Pilot error was suspected from the beginning but that might not be the case.

After a nearly year-long investigation, the US National Transportation Safety Board has determined what caused Asiana Flight 214 to crash at San Francisco International airport last summer. Jim Spellman from CCTV News have more.

Asiana Flight 214 tragedy is caused by pilot error

After a nearly year-long investigation, the US National Transportation Safety Board has determined what caused Asiana Flight 214 to crash at San Francisco International airport last summer. Jim Spellman from CCTV News have more.

“They flew the aircraft too low and too slow and collided with the sea wall at the end of the runway.”

An NTSB animation details the last moments of the flight. “11 second before impact an audible alert sounded because the air speed was too low BEEP BEEP 4 seconds later the pilot monitoring advanced the thrust levers followed by stick shaker activation and a verbal call to go around. These actions were too late and the main gear and underside aft fuselage struck the sea wall.”

Sending the plane hurtling end over end.

The NTSB says the flight crew didn’t fully understand the plane’s complex automation system, and switched off an autopilot feature that could have prevented the crash.
“The more complex automation becomes, the more challenging it is to ensure that the pilots adequately understand it. In this instance the flight crew over-relied on automated systems that they did not fully understand.”

Three teenage girls from China died: Wang Linjia at the scene, and Liu Yipeng, days later in a hospital. Ye Mengyuan was killed on the runway when she was run over by rescue vehicles. The report blames miscommunication by crews on the ground for Ye’s death.
but the NTSB praised many safety features of the Boeing 777.

“More than 300 passengers and crew survived this crash, which in years past might have resulted in scores or even hundreds of fatalities. Safety advances such as seats that can withstand 16 times the force of gravity and fire-blocking materials gave the cabin crew the time and the opportunity to evacuate the airplane.”

The report calls for better pilot training and more coordination of rescue crews on the ground.
ON CAM TAG: The report also reveals that two of the teenagers who died were not wearing seat belts and were thrown from the plane. The NTSB says that if they had been wearing their seatbelts, they likely would have survived the crash.