A plane reportedly crashed upon landing at San Francisco International Airport today. CNN reports the plane was a Boeing 777 operated by Asiana Airlines.
A YouTube video showed the smoking plane at the crash site.
This has been a busy week for airline collision news, with a close-call near-collision above Michigan and a call for air traffic control changes after a number of near collisions in recent months.
Passengers on the plane tweeted about the crash:
I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I’m ok. Surreal… (at @flySFO) [pic] – https://t.co/E6Ur1XEfa4
– David Eun (@Eunner) July 6, 2013
Update: 3:59 PM EST
Initial reports from passengers indicate most people on board did not suffer major injuries.
Update 4:07 PM EST
Local news outlet KTVU is reporting that all flights into SFO are cancelled and roads around the airport have been shut down.
Update 4:11 PM EST
Passengers from Asiana flight 214 are being taken to local hospitals. The flight as en route to San Francisco from Seoul. Initial reports from passengers claim that the nearly 300 people on board the plane are accounted for. David Eun, a Samsung executive, was on the plane and posted updates via Twitter. Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer was scheduled to be on the flight but switched to a United flight to use miles:
Sheryl Sandberg says she intended to take the Asiana 777 flight that just crashed at SFO, with family & colleagues: https://t.co/fEurZdRuRO
– NowThis News (@nowthisnews) July 6, 2013
Update: 4:34 PM EST
Local news outlet KTVU now reports at least two people were killed in today’s plane crash.
Photos and video of the plane show a large, charred hole in the top of the cabin, and the tail is detached from the body of the plane. Details are still coming in about the crash, while some people speculated its cause on Twitter:
From my seat…..777 accident at SFO looks like a low approach with tail clipping sea wall before threshold……will have to wait for NTSB.
– fly777 (@fly777) July 6, 2013
Others reacted to landing at SFO in general:
not a fan of landing in SFO because it looks like you’re going to land in the water until the last 5 seconds… this crash is my nightmare.
– Alessandro Miglio (@AlexMiglio) July 6, 2013
Update: 5:11 PM EST
Read a transcript or listen to the audio of the communication between the plane and air traffic control when the incident occurred here.
Update: 7:20 PM EST
San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hays-White: “The scene is now secure.”
Hays-White reports 291 passengers and 16 crew on board the plane. There were 48 initial transports from the scene to area hospitals, with additional passengers waiting to be transferred to hospitals. There were two confirmed fatalities. Some passengers are unaccounted for.
Two of SFO’s four runways are back in operation.
The FBI says the crash does not appear to be caused by terrorism.