Asiana 214 Crash: NTSB Eyes Pilot Actions

Stephen Pope

Tuesday, July 09, 2013 at 07:56 PM ET

Verified

** Courtesy of NTSB**

Key Takeaways:

The Asiana Boeing 777 crashed at San Francisco after flying significantly below its target airspeed and in an unusually nose-high attitude on approach.
Investigators confirmed the plane was at idle power and slowed to 103 knots before striking the seawall, despite pilots noting low speed and a stick shaker activating before a late go-around call.
Key investigation areas include the inexperience of the pilot flying the approach in the 777 type, potential pilot fatigue, and the roles of autothrottle and power settings, noting the airport's glideslope was out.
The crash resulted in a fire, severe damage to the aircraft, 49 serious injuries, and two fatalities, one of whom may have been run over by an emergency vehicle.

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The Asiana Boeing 777 that crashed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday was flying in an unusually nose-high attitude on approach and “significantly below” its target airspeed, investigators said yesterday.

The NTSB has confirmed that the jetliner had its gear down, flaps set to 30 degrees and the engines were at idle power — but the 777-200ER was flying far slower than its target airspeed of 137 knots, NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman confirmed. She said one of the pilots voiced his concern about the low airspeed 7 seconds before impact. About 4 seconds before impact the stick shaker activated. One of the pilots called for a go-around 1.5 seconds before impact, but it was too late.