Here's an e-mail from one of
the United 747 pilots that witnessed the 777 crashed in SFO. They were holding short of runway 28L at the time of the
crash.
Mike Dawson
On July 6, 2013 at
approximately 1827Z I was the 747-400 relief F/O on flt 885, ID326/06 SFO-KIX.
I was a witness to the Asiana Flt 214 accident. We had taxied to hold short of
runway 28L at SFO on taxiway F, and were waiting to rectify a HAZMAT cargo
issue as well as our final weights before we could run our before takeoff
checklist and depart. As we waited on taxiway F heading East, just prior to the
perpendicular holding area, all three pilots took notice of the Asiana 777 on
short final. I noticed the aircraft looked low on glidepath and had a very high
deck angle compared to what seemed “normal”. I then noticed at the apparent
descent rate and closure to the runway environment the aircraft looked as
though it was going to impact the approach lights mounted on piers in the SF
Bay. The aircraft made a fairly drastic looking pull up in the last few feet
and it appeared and sounded as if they had applied maximum thrust. However the
descent path they were on continued and the thrust applied didn't appear to
come soon enough to prevent impact. The tail cone and empennage of the 777
impacted the bulkhead seawall and departed the airplane and the main landing
gear sheared off instantly. This created a long debris field along the arrival
end of 28L, mostly along the right side of 28L. We saw the fuselage, largely
intact, slide down the runway and out of view of our cockpit. We heard much
confusion and quick instructions from SFO Tower and a few moments later heard
an aircraft go around over the runway 28 complex. We realized within a few
moments that we were apparently unharmed so I got on the PA and instructed
everyone to remain seated and that we were safe.
We all acknowledged if we had
been located between Runways 28R and 28L on taxiway F we would have likely
suffered damage to the right side aft section of our aircraft from the 777.
Approximately two minutes
later I was looking out the left side cockpit windows and noticed movement on
the right side of Runway 28L. Two survivors were stumbling but moving abeam the
Runway “28L” marking on the North side of the runway. I saw one survivor stand
up, walk a few feet, then appear to squat down. The other appeared to be a
woman and was walking, then fell off to her side and remained on the ground
until rescue personnel arrived. The Captain was on the radio and I told him to
tell tower what I had seen, but I ended up taking the microphone instead of
relaying through him. I told SFO tower that there appeared to be survivors on
the right side of the runway and they needed to send assistance immediately. It
seemed to take a very long time for vehicles and assistance to arrive for these
victims. The survivors I saw were approximately 1000-1500' away from the
fuselage and had apparently been ejected from the fuselage.
We made numerous PAs to the
passengers telling them any information we had, which we acknowledged was going
to change rapidly, and I left the cockpit to check on the flight attendants and
the overall mood of the passengers, as I was the third pilot and not in a
control seat. A couple of our flight attendants were shaken up but ALL were
doing an outstanding and extremely professional job of handling the passenger's
needs and providing calm comfort to them. One of the flight attendants
contacted unaccompanied minors' parents to ensure them their children were safe
and would be taken care of by our crew. Their demeanor and professionalism
during this horrific event was noteworthy. I went to each cabin and spoke to
the passengers asking if everyone was OK and if they needed any assistance, and
gave them information personally, to include telling them what I saw from the
cockpit. I also provided encouragement that we would be OK, we'd tell them
everything we learn and to please relax and be patient and expect this is going
to be a long wait. The passenger mood was concerned but generally calm. A few
individuals were emotional as nearly every passenger on the left side of the
aircraft saw the fuselage and debris field going over 100 knots past our
aircraft only 300' away. By this point everyone had looked out the windows and
could see the smoke plume from the 777. A number of passengers also noticed
what I had seen with the survivors out near the end of 28L expressing concern
that the rescue effort appeared slow for those individuals that had been
separated from the airplane wreckage.
We ultimately had a tug come
out and tow us back to the gate, doing a 3 point turn in the hold short area of
28L. We were towed to gate 101 where the passengers deplaned. Captain Jim Abel
met us at the aircraft and gave us information he had and asked if we needed
any assistance or hotel rooms for the evening. Captain Herlihy and F/O Ishikawa
went to hotels and I went to my home an hour away in the East Bay.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário
Não publicamos comentários de anônimos/desconhecidos.
Por favor, se optar por "Anônimo", escreva o seu nome no final do comentário.
Não use CAIXA ALTA, (Não grite!), isto é, não escreva tudo em maiúsculas, escreva normalmente. Obrigado pela sua participação!
Volte sempre!
Abraços./-