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.
