Asiana Airlines on Monday confirmed that the pilot flying the Boeing 777 that crashed in San Francisco was in training, raising the possibility that human error caused the deadly accident.
Two teenage Chinese girls were the only fatalities in the fiery crash Saturday, though six of the 307 people aboard the flight remained in area hospitals in critical condition.
Chinese state media identified the two dead passengers as Ye Mengyuan, 16, and Wang Linjia, 17, high school classmates from eastern China's Zhejiang province.
One of the girls may have been run over by an airport fire engine rushing to the scene, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White told reporters. Hayes-White did not identify the victim.
"Based on the injuries sustained, it could have been one of our vehicles that added to the injuries, or another vehicle," Hayes-White told the San Francisco Chronicle.
San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault told the newspaper that the other girl appeared to have died from injuries suffered as she was hurled out of the plane when its tail broke off in the crash.
Asked about the accidental death report, Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said: "We are still trying to verify the situation."
The two friends were coming to visit Stanford University, just south of San Francisco, and to attend a summer camp at a local Christian school, the Chronicle reported.
The two teenagers were best friends and promising students. Wang excelled at Chinese calligraphy and painting, and Ye was a piano player and a national aerobics champion, Chinese media reported.
US investigators said Sunday that the Asiana jet was traveling much slower than recommended as it attempted to land.
The flight data recorder showed that as the Boeing 777 approached the runway its pilots were warned four seconds before the crash that the aircraft was likely to stall and asked to abort the landing.
The request to abort was captured on the cockpit voice recorder 1.5 seconds before the plane crashed, said National Transportation Safety Board chairwoman Deborah Hersman, who is leading the probe.
Her announcement came minutes after a video obtained by CNN confirmed that the aircraft clipped a seawall short of the airport runway.
The footage showed the plane with its nose up and its rear hitting the ground. The plane then hit the tarmac, abruptly bounced upward, and spun around 180 degrees.
In Seoul on Monday, Asiana said pilot Lee Kang-Kuk had just 43 hours of experience in piloting the 777 and was still undergoing training, although he had more than 9,000 hours of flight time experience.
An Asiana spokeswoman told AFP he was accompanied by an experienced trainer, who acted as co-pilot.
On Monday Asiana CEO Yoon Young-Doo, who had earlier apologized for the incident, described media reports that pilot error may have caused the tragedy as "intolerable," calling it a "matter of speculation."
He had earlier said the plane had no known mechanical problems.
Choi Jeong-Ho, the head of South Korea's transportation ministry's aviation policy bureau, meanwhile said it was too early in the investigation to say that pilot error was a factor.
Asiana Flight 214, which originated in Shanghai and stopped in Seoul, had 291 passengers and 16 crew members aboard.
In total, 123 people aboard the flight escaped unharmed, US officials said.
On Monday, a group of 11 South Korean passengers aboard the plane returned home, including a 28-year-old woman who was travelling with her husband for their first wedding anniversary.
"I feel so much pain both physically and mentally," the woman told Yonhap news agency.
"My whole body aches."
Another passenger who arrived at Seoul's Incheon airport was carried on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance, Yonhap reported.
The twin-engine Boeing 777 is one of the world's most popular airplanes used for long distance flights.
According to aviation safety databases, the two dead teens are the 777's first fatalities in the plane's 18 year of service.
It was the first deadly Asiana passenger plane crash since June 1993, when one of its Boeing 737s slammed into a mountain in South Korea, killing 68.
Asiana's share price ended down nearly six percent on Monday as investors digested the impact of the accident.
Huge insurance payouts to victims and for the aircraft could raise future premiums and increase the company's financial burdens.
Aviation experts, however, said the damage to its business could be limited, as South Korea's number two airline has spent years building a reputation for safety and quality.
AFP
Tue Jul 09 2013
Gapena disaran guna pentas media baharu hasilkan karya - Ahmad Zahid
Gapena disaran menggunakan pentas media baharu seperti media sosial sebagai saluran menghasilkan karya budaya, kesusasteraan dan seni.
Latihan berkaitan AI, TVET harus ditingkatkan supaya negara tidak ketinggalan - PM Anwar
Semua pihak pelaksana terutamanya kementerian diminta memberi fokus melatih golongan anak muda mengenai teknologi kecerdasan buatan (AI) supaya negara tidak ketinggalan.
Penulis perlu mengoptimumkan platform media sosial
Timbalan Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi hadir pada Majlis Perasmian Kompleks Rumah Gabungan Persatuan Penulis Nasional (GAPENA) dan Majlis Aidilfitri bersama penulis di rumah GAPENA, di Bukit Petaling.
Dakwaan Subsidi: Walaupun ada perbincangan awal, tapi belum ada keputusan muktamad - PM
Tegas Perdana Menteri, setakat ini belum ada sebarang keputusan muktamad diputuskan kerajaan berhubung subsidi bahan terbabit walaupun ada perbincangan awal bersama Jemaah Menteri.
[TERKINI] Bapa dan dua anak lemas di sungai
Kegembiraan sebuah keluarga bermandi-manda pada hujung minggu berakhir dengan tragedi apabila tiga beranak lemas dalam kejadian di Jalan Genting Lama Batang Kali.
Badminton: China julang Piala Uber buat kali ke-16
China berjaya merangkul kejuaraan Piala Uber buat kali ke-16 apabila menewaskan juara tiga kali, Indonesia 3-0 pada perlawanan akhir.
Penduduk Israel gesa Netanyahu terima gencatan senjata
Kumpulan penunjuk perasaan berhimpun di Tel Aviv ketika pegawai Hamas bertemu pengantara Mesir dan Qatar di Kaherah, dan mendesak melakukan segala yang mungkin untuk membawa tebusan pulang.
Yaya Empire buktikan syarikat tempatan mampu tempa nama sebagai usahawan ‘perfume’ bertaraf antarabangsa
Yaya Empire adalah antara salah sebuah syarikat tempatan yang berjaya menempa nama dalam industri haruman bertaraf global selepas berjaya meneroka pasaran luar Malaysia.
AWANI Ringkas: Perak setuju bekal air ke Pulau Pinang
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Johor kenal pasti 120 'hotspot' banjir, PBT diminta atasi segera
Kerajaan Johor mengenal pasti sebanyak 120 lokasi panas yang kerap berlakunya banjir di seluruh negeri ini.
Korea Selatan: Lelaki buka pintu pesawat kerana mahu cepat turun - Polis
Dalam soal siasat, lelaki itu berkata dia tertekan selepas hilang pekerjaan baru-baru ini, menurut polis.
200 penumpang, anak kapal cemas, pintu kecemasan pesawat terbuka di ruang udara
Penumpang dan anak kapal sebuah pesawat Airbus 321, Asiana Airlines berdepan detik cemas selepas salah seorang penumpang bertindak membuka pintu kecemasan pesawat itu sebelum mendarat di Daegu.
Mavcom lulus penggabungan syarikat penerbangan Korea
MAVCOM mengambil maklum bahawa penggabungan berkenaan bertujuan menyelamatkan syarikat penerbangan tersebut.
Pesawat Asiana Airlines mendarat cemas di Hiroshima, 23 penumpang cedera
Lebih 20 penumpang cedera apabila sebuah pesawat Airbus A320 milik Asiana Airlines membuat pendaratan cemas di sebuah landasan di barat Jepun pada malam Selasa.
Kotak hitam Asiana Airlines dihantar ke Washington
Penyiasat juga akan menemubual penumpang, juruterbang dan anak kapal mengenai nahas yang berlaku pada hari Ahad.
Pesawat terhempas di San Francisco, dua terbunuh
Sebuah pesawat milik Asiana Airlines terhempas ketika mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa San Francisco.