Korea Responds to Asiana Airlines Crash

From Yonhap News:

Asiana Airlines flight crashes in San Francisco…2 dead, 181 hospitalized

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport in the US on July 6th (local time). In this accident, two passengers died and 181 passengers were transported to hospitals, according to the local fire department. According to Asiana Airlines, 291 passengers and 16 flight crew members including 77 Korean nationals were on board. The dead passengers have not been identified yet. [Identified in the next article] American president Barack Obama instructed complete support and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) dispatched an investigation team to the crash site. The FBI excluded the possibility of terrorism.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the Asiana flight crashed while landing at 11:36 AM (local time). The exact process and cause of the accident have not been identified yet. According to airport staff, landing on the secondary runway, as its front was lifted up, the plane’s tail hit the ground and broke away from the rest of the fuselage. They said it almost seemed like the whole plane would be torn apart and many would die. In the picture taken from above, the top of the fuselage is seen to be severely damaged. Most passengers calmly evacuated the plane using the emergency slides as soon as the plane stopped. According to American media such as CNN, the captain requested ambulances from the control center prior to landing, so it is possible that a problem occurred before landing. FBI staff said there is no possibility that terrorism was involved in this accident.

In a press conference, San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White announced it was known that two aboard the plane had died and 130 were injured from the crash so far. She said 48 people were first transported to a nearby hospital and other 82 people were also sent to hospitals. It is known that one of the passengers has not been identified. There is a possibility that casualties will increase because some of the injured passengers are in critical condition.

Korean and American authorities will conduct joint investigations. Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said they will send a team consisting of four people who will work with the American government. The NTSB immediately dispatched an investigation team to the site. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said the team is considering all possibilities for the cause of crash, including pilot error, and it is important to collect relevant data on site. Airplane manufacturer Boeing expressed their willingness to provide any technical support. Korean and American authorities will retrieve the wreck and black box of the plane to analyze the crash. In a statement from the White House, President Obama expressed condolences for the bereaved and requested officials closely watch over the investigations.

Two runways at the airport were normalized at 6:28 PM (local time) on the same day. Some airliners that were scheduled to land at the airport had to detour to a nearby airport in L.A. Many passengers are experiencing trouble due to flight schedules disturbed by the crash. 330 flights have already been cancelled and it is expected that more flights will be cancelled.

The Boeing 777-200, the model in the accident, is a twin-engine jet airliner capable of intercontinental flights for longer than 12 hours. It is 60.93m wide, 63.73m long and 18.51m high. Its seating capacity is between 246 and 300.

Comments from Naver:

2000****:

According to witnesses, the plane’s tail broke off first as it was landing and the pilot chose the nearest runway instead of the scheduled runway. It looks like the pilot’s judgement and skills prevented a big disaster. It takes amazing skill to control a plane that has lost its tail and to make it rotate without flipping while reducing the speed. If it flipped once, they would’ve all died. Imagine how hard it is to stop a tumbling car moving at 150 kilometers per hour all within a short distance. As shown in the emergency landing in Murmansk, Korean airline pilots’ skills are among the top in the world because most of them are from the air force.

aodl****:

I think the captain did a great job. Even a bus accident can cause more than two deaths.

dbrq****:

It’s fortunate that there are so few deaths for a plane crash.

carl****:

It’s really fortunate if there are only two deaths for a plane crash. It’s not a car accident.

spee****:

My condolences go to the bereaved and I hope the injured people recover soon.

gamj****:

Captain, you saved many lives. If you feel any sense of guilt, I hope you can get over it and get well soon. It was almost miraculous.

hkm5****:

According to Dr. Frank Holovati at Harvard University, a mental disease that makes you write stupid weird comments and wait for responses is spreading. It is an illness that causes your long-suppressed subconsciousness originating in the right cerebral hemisphere of the brain to try to attract attention. It is a disease that slowly degrades one’s psychological and physical health. [This is a meme comment made up by a netizen several years ago to mock trolls.]

adad****:

What the, ke ke. The American pilot became a hero when he landed on a river. In Korea, even if you minimize casualties, you still get bashed. Sigh, what a country.

hkm5****:

Fortunately, there aren’t many deaths… My condolences for the loss of the two passengers.

newk****:

I think his emergency maneuver was really great..

From The Seoul Shinmun:

Two Chinese dead, both female high school students

asiana-crash-diagram-san-francisco

Two dead Chinese teenage passengers from the Asiana Airlines plane crash at San Francisco International Airport on July 7th have been identified. According to Asiana Airlines, they are Wang Lin-Jia (born on December 13, 1996) and Ye Meng-Yuan (born on June 27, 1997). Both are students. Asiana Airlines said they will contact the bereaved through their local office in China and give full support to them.

Comments from Naver:

suga****:

I heard they have only one child in China these days and always give careful attention to that child. Their parents must be so devastated… Rest in peace.

true****:

Rest in peace….

mumu****:

Do you know the Good Comment Campaign… Many people only read news articles and don’t bother with netizen comments while akpeulers write bad comments as if their life depends on it. Therefore, many comment sections of news articles become full of bad comments. Let us normal, reasonable citizens write good comments.

kyoi****:

So pitiful, at such young ages…

alib****:

How sad their parents must be…

kyoi****:

Very pitiful to be cut short just at the age when they are starting to look pretty.

ivi3****:

It hurts me more because one of them is my age, even with a similar birthday… She must be 18 years old.. I hope they rest in peace..

dydy****:

ㅠㅠ It must have been so scary ㅠ Rest in peace ㅠㅠ And it seems the American emergency response system is very fast and efficient! If it had happened in Korea, more people might have been hurt or died.

gmld****:

Know when to write bad comments. When someone died, even if you don’t feel sad, it is courteous to stay quiet.

dark****:

Born in 97… It’s heartbreaking. Whether it is the pilot, Boeing, or Asiana Airlines, those in charge should be strictly punished.

From Yonhap News:

Asiana Airlines crash, praise for flight attendants’ devotion

asiana-attendant-crash-san-francisco

As of July 6th (local time) at San Francisco International Airport, there has been a lot of complimentary reviews about the conduct of the Asiana Airlines flight attendants during the crash.

Passenger Eugene Anthony Rah, a hip-hop concert producer described a flight attendant during the accident in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. “This tiny, little girl was carrying people piggyback, running everywhere, with tears running down her face. She was crying, but she was still so calm and helping people. She was a hero,” he said.

It has also been reported that San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes White praised the cabin manager as a hero. According to a Twitter user (@jennalane), the cabin manager remained in the plane until the last person left and then was transported to a hospital.

Many users of social networking sites complimented the flight attendants’ effort as the casualties were considerably limited despite the nature of the accident. Facebook user Steve Cosgrove said, “Imagine you get into a crash at the end of your 14-hour shift. You have to remain calm and let all others evacuate first. The Asiana Airlines flight attendants did it today.” Twitter user Shane Wilson (@jayquu) said, “It really is incredible that most of the people walked away from Asiana 214. Anyone flying should hug a flight attendant!”

Comments from Nate:

whol****:

Well done. I think many lives were saved thanks to them. Of course, it’s very sad that two Chinese girls died. Rest in peace.

lee7****:

Well done.

khs4****:

Committing oneself to one’s duty is great. Before talking about compensation, we should appreciate her great sense of duty……

ripl****:

You see this, Chairman Wang? Flight attendants are not ramen cooks….

mang****:

Just reading the article makes me want to cry. The flight attendant herself must have been so scared. Her face was covered with tears but she still carried injured passengers on her back. Proud of her!!

dyoo****:

Even if they were trained and educated for emergency situations, they must have been scared… Good job, flight attendants..

dbtn****:

See this, Korean loser guys?? Those who you call Kimchi bitches or bean paste girls seem better than you… Go suckle at mommy’s breast more, kids…tsk

kojg****:

Those bastards who call flight attendants waitresses just because they get you coffee and meals, if it wasn’t for them, there would’ve been more casualties. The flight attendants calmly helped passengers evacuate, tsk tsk. The pilot and the cabin crew were all great. There could’ve been many casualties..

hyob****:

These are the flight attendants you have been badmouthing. You’re a bunch of parasites who only know how to curse.

joyj****:

Compliments for the flight attendants are steadily emerging. Do you notice that all the words come from Americans or westerners? In an advanced culture, individual sacrifices and strengths are appreciated and encouraged in any form. In Korea, they only focus on criticism. If finding good deeds and encouraging them becomes the cultural norm, society will be less dreary and more warm. Thank you, flight attendants.

From Financial News:

Asiana Airlines plane crash, man helps 50 passengers evacuate despite his broken ribs

Passenger Benjamin Levy recovers in a hospital after his extraordinary efforts

Passenger Benjamin Levy recovers in a hospital after his extraordinary efforts

In the Asiana Airlines plane crash at the San Francisco International Airport, two died and 181 passengers are being treated in hospitals. A foreign male passenger who helped about 50 passengers evacuate despite his own injuries is drawing attention.

The man is Benjamin Levy, one of the survivors of the crash and a friend of a former WSB-TV staff member. Atalanta local news station WSB-TV shared a picture of him being treated in a hospital on their official Facebook page. According to WSB-TV, he opened the emergency door despite his broken ribs. His wife wrote “Ben opened the exit door and helped 50+ people out of the plane, with broken ribs from the crash. He calmed people down and helped get them out before it was too late.”

On his Twitter, Levy said he is waiting for CT scanning while expressing concern for other passengers and their families. On social networking sites, local netizens praised him with comments such as “You did a great job”, “I hope you get well soon”, “You are a hero” and “I’m grateful for your courage”.

Comments from Nate:

sup1****:

You are a hero.

dbwl****:

Really great.. Even though your own body was injured ㅠㅠ Hope you get well soon!! I hope they find no more victims in the crash ㅠ

didt****:

Bruce Willis in real life!

rhym****:

I want to learn his attitude… His warm heart which made him take care of others in emergency didn’t just help those 50 passengers but also set an example for many others.

yuky****:

He’s really great. I would’ve been busy trying to run away ㅠㅠ

klk7****:

I hope Asiana Airlines provides him and his family with free business seats for life.

jess****:

Meanwhile somebody was trying to save her suitcase…

last****:

We get American help even during accidents..

only****:

On the other hand, who was that ajumma who tried to get her suitcase?! It’s an international shame. Completely insensible. She tried to save her suitcase when human lives were in danger.

wlgh****:

Asiana Airlines should compensate him well!

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