The pilots trying to land Asiana Airlines Flight 214 knew 500 feet from the ground that they were coming in off course - and they focused on correcting that problem while assuming that the plane's airspeed was being controlled automatically, investigators said Tuesday.
By the time the pilots realized the plane's speed had dropped dangerously low, investigators said, it was too late to correct. The main landing gear and tail struck the rocky seawall at the base of San Francisco International Airport's Runway 28L, breaking into pieces and sending the plane into a devastating spin.
The plane was traveling at 122 mph - instead of 158 mph - when it struck the seawall, investigators said.
The plane hit the wall, bounced up in the air "yawed left and it went into a 360 spin," Hersman said.
The pilots, interviewed on Monday and Tuesday by investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and the South Korean government, said they had engaged an automatic throttle mechanism designed to keep the plane at the proper speed as they approached the runway, said Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the board.
But something went wrong. By the time the plane struck the ground, it was traveling 36 mph slower than it should have been. Hersman said the engines did not fail and the automatic throttle was found in the wreckage in the "armed" position, but she indicated an additional step might have been required to engage it.
She said it is not yet clear when the auto-throttle was turned on or if it was in good working order. Regardless, she said, the crew is obligated to check equipment, monitor gauges and make sure everything is working.
Experts were listening to the flight data recorder to determine if there were warning signals or beeps that might have alerted the crew to the slow air speed.
10/07/13 Will Kane, Ellen Huet and Peter Fimrite/San Francisco Chronicle
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
By the time the pilots realized the plane's speed had dropped dangerously low, investigators said, it was too late to correct. The main landing gear and tail struck the rocky seawall at the base of San Francisco International Airport's Runway 28L, breaking into pieces and sending the plane into a devastating spin.
The plane was traveling at 122 mph - instead of 158 mph - when it struck the seawall, investigators said.
The plane hit the wall, bounced up in the air "yawed left and it went into a 360 spin," Hersman said.
The pilots, interviewed on Monday and Tuesday by investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board and the South Korean government, said they had engaged an automatic throttle mechanism designed to keep the plane at the proper speed as they approached the runway, said Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the board.
But something went wrong. By the time the plane struck the ground, it was traveling 36 mph slower than it should have been. Hersman said the engines did not fail and the automatic throttle was found in the wreckage in the "armed" position, but she indicated an additional step might have been required to engage it.
She said it is not yet clear when the auto-throttle was turned on or if it was in good working order. Regardless, she said, the crew is obligated to check equipment, monitor gauges and make sure everything is working.
Experts were listening to the flight data recorder to determine if there were warning signals or beeps that might have alerted the crew to the slow air speed.
10/07/13 Will Kane, Ellen Huet and Peter Fimrite/San Francisco Chronicle
