Asiana Air crash

On July 6, after an 11-hour flight from Seoul, South Korea, Asiana Airlines flight 214 crashed at the San Francisco International Airport (SF0) as it was landing. Of the 291 passengers and 16 crew, two passengers died on the scene, another died nearly a week later and about 180 people were injured. 

The plane came in too low and too slowly, and the landing gear and tail section of the Boeing 777 plane were broken off on a seawall on the approach. Passengers exited and were evacuated before a fire took over. Investigations into the cause of the accident are ongoing.

Since the crash, the FAA has instituted two changes: (1) SFO’s instrument landing system was under repairs at the time of the crash, and, until repairs are completed, pilots flying into SFO will be allowed to use a GPS system in addition to their manual landing procedures. (2) Foreign aircraft will no longer be allowed to land side by side on SFO’s parallel runways. The planes will be staggered on descent to prevent visual distraction.