Airlines allow reticketing in SFO
JetBlue, United, US Airways and Virgin America are allowing customers with flights to, from, or through San Francisco to change their itineraries at no cost today following the crash of a Boeing 777 that closed the airport and left two teenagers dead on Saturday.
More than 425 flights were suspended over the weekend, with some diverted to other airports like Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose and Los Angeles.
The pilot of the plane that crashed, injuring 180 people, was still "in training" for the Boeing 777.
Lee Kang-kuk was the most junior pilot of four on board the Asiana Airlines plane with only 43 hours’ experience flying the 777 when he attempted to land under supervision the South Korean airline told Reuters.
The plane’s crew tried to abort the landing less than two seconds before it hit a seawall, ripped off the tail and burst into flames on the tarmac.
South Korean transport ministry official Choi Seung-youn said it was the pilot’s first attempt to land a 777 at San Francisco, though he had flown there 29 times on different aircraft and had accumulated 9,793 flying hours.
Two Chinese teenagers were killed and more than 180 injured in the crash, the first fatal accident involving the Boeing 777 since it started service in 1995.
Information from the plane’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder showed no signs of trouble until seven seconds before impact, when the crew tried to accelerate, said National Transportation Safety Board chair Deborah Hersman.
A stall warning, in which the cockpit controls begin to shake, activated four seconds before impact, and the crew tried to abort the landing 1.5 seconds before crashing, Hersman said.
The San Francisco Fire Department said that one of the teenagers may have been run over by an emergency vehicle as first responders scrambled to the scene.
"One of the deceased did have injuries consistent with those of having been run over by a vehicle," spokesperson Mindy Talmadge said. "Many agencies were on the field yesterday."
More than 30 people remain in the hospital, including eight in critical condition, and two with paralysis from spinal injuries.
The Asiana flight was flying to San Francisco from Seoul with 291 passengers and 16 crew members on board.
Several large groups of Chinese students were among the passengers.
"For now, we acknowledge that there were no problems caused by the 777-200 plane or (its) engines," Yoon Young-doo, the president and CEO of the airline, told reporters on Sunday at the company’s headquarters on the outskirts of Seoul.
By Cheryl Rosen and Diane Evans, TravelMole UK
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