U.S. Assists With S. Korea Crash Site

KIMHAE, South Korea - U.S. experts interviewed the pilot and inspected the
crash site Wednesday where a Chinese airliner carrying 166 people slammed
into a mountain in rain and fog, killing 126 people.

Thirty-eight people survived Monday's crash and two are listed as missing.

The U.S. mission, part of a three-nation probe of Monday's crash of the Air
China flight near Busan, was requested because the crash involved an
American-built Boeing 767-200. China has joined South Korean officials in
the investigation of the crash at South Korea's second largest city on the
southeast coast.

``It's a typical impact,'' said Carolyn L. Deforge, an aerospace expert from
the National Transportation Safety Board.

The U.S. investigators interviewed 31-year-old Wu Xinlu, the hospitalized
pilot, before visiting the crash site. Wu suffered severe facial bruises and
a minor brain hemorrhage.

Details of that interview were not released, but South Korean officials who
spoke with Wu on Tuesday said he told them the plane was functioning
normally before it hit the mountain.

South Korean officials have indicated the crash was the result of human
error.

The 17-year-old aircraft was approaching Kimhae Airport in heavy rain and
fog when it hit the 1,000-foot, forest-covered mountain. Most of the victims
were South Korean.

Earlier Wednesday, about 100 South Korean relatives and friends of the
victims trekked to the hilly crash site. Carrying flowers and photographs,
they offered prayers or dug at the muddy ground.

Sohn Sang-moo, who lost his wife, Lee Myong-sook, brought an offering of one
apple, one pear and a soda bottle wrapped in a pink tablecloth. He placed
the fruit on the wet ground and bowed twice.

``Myong-sook! Myong-sook!'' Sohn cried aloud. ``We lived together for 41
years, two months and 19 days. I should have gone first.''

The U.S. team included two experts from the NTSB and one each from the
Federal Aviation Administration, Pratt & Whitney and Boeing.

South Korean officials said that the airport's control tower gave Wu's plane
permission to land but asked the pilot to approach the runway from the
opposite direction because of winds. The Boeing hit the mountain while
circling to the other side of the airport.

The pilot was on his fifth flight to Kimhae, but Monday's was his first time
approaching the runway from the opposite direction, officials said.

Survivors said the aircraft went down shortly after an in-flight
announcement advising passengers to buckle their seat belts to prepare for
landing.

Clues to the cause of the crash may be contained in cockpit voice and flight
data recorders, both of which were recovered. Deciphering the ``black box''
data will take about one week, officials said.

The jet broke apart and caught on fire on impact, leaving a trail of fallen
trees 100 feet wide and 330 feet long.

Officials prepared DNA tests to try to identify most of the burned and
damaged bodies. Only four have been identified.

Officials displayed gruesome photos of the unidentified bodies or body parts
at Kimhae City Hall, hoping that bereaved family members could help identify
them.

Air China is the country's national flag carrier and one of three major
international carriers based in China. It was the first fatal crash
involving Air China since its founding in 1988.
***************

Pilot: Plane Worked Before Crash

KIMHAE, South Korea - The pilot of a Chinese airliner that crashed in
southern South Korea with 166 people on board told officials Tuesday that
his plane had no mechanical problems before it went down.

The Chinese pilot, Wu Xing Lu, was among 38 people who survived the Monday
crash. He was hospitalized with extensive facial bruises and a minor brain
hemorrhage.

South Korean officials have suggested human error was to blame for the
crash.

``We believe this is a classic case of CFIT (controlled flight into
terrain),'' Ham Dae-young, a South Korean aviation official, said Monday.
``We must note that 95 percent of CFIT cases are due to pilot error.''

The death toll rose to 124 Tuesday as rescue workers recovered four bodies
from the mangled wreckage of the Boeing 767-200. Four people were listed as
missing.

The 31-year-old pilot was interviewed for the first time Tuesday and said he
plane functioned normally before it slammed into a fog-shrouded mountain as
he prepared to land at Kimhae Airport outside Busan, South Korea's second
largest city.

``I felt no plane malfunction before the crash,'' Ham Dae-young, a South
Korean air traffic official, quoted Wu as saying.

Aviation officials said the airport's control tower gave Wu's plane
permission to land but asked the pilot to approach the runway from the
opposite direction because of a strong headwind. It hit the mountain while
circling to the other side of the airport.

Officials said the pilot flew 1.3 miles beyond the designated spot to turn
back toward the airport and hit the mountain, 2.8 miles from the runway.

Ham said the pilot was on his fifth flight to Kimhae but that it was the
first time he was told to circle and approach from the opposite direction.

It was unclear whether the pilot had been briefed on weather conditions and
terrain around Kimhae Airport before embarking on the flight in Beijing, Ham
said.

Flight CA129, a nonstop flight from Beijing, was approaching in heavy rain
and fog when it hit the 1,000-foot forest-covered mountain.

The jet shattered and caught fire on impact, leaving a trail of fallen trees
30 yards wide and 100 yards long.

Luan Bao, a director at China's Civil Aviation Administration, inspected the
crash site on Tuesday with several aides. He said China will cooperate fully
in the South Korean-led investigation. American air safety officials will
also join in the probe.

Ham said the cockpit voice recorder was found Tuesday. The flight data
recorder was recovered a day earlier.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in Beijing on Tuesday
her government ``attaches great importance to the incident.''

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said in Beijing Chinese
President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji, both on overseas trips,
``closely followed the incident'' and have sent telegrams of condolences to
South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

The 17-year-old plane carried 135 Korean passengers, 19 Chinese and one
Uzbek, Air China's Seoul office said. Its 11 crew members were Chinese.

DNA tests will be needed to identify most of the bodies, which were severely
burned or damaged beyond recognition. Only three have been positively
identified.

The wreckage looked like shredded pieces of paper. The plane's broken tail
and nose came to rest near the top of the mountain, where a lack of access
roads slowed the rescue.

Hundreds of bereaved family members and friends gathered at Kimhae City
Hall, waiting for word of their loved ones.

``Where's my son? Where's my son?'' 78-year-old Jun Young-bong mumbled as he
paced around the city hall. His 43-year-old son, Jun Sang-bae, was not on
the survivors' list.

Survivors said the plane went down shortly after an in-flight announcement
advising passengers to buckle their seat belts to prepare for landing.

Air China is the country's national flag carrier and one of three major
international carriers based in China. It was the first fatal crash
involving Air China since its establishment in 1988.

WEB: www.fsinfo.org

 

Juan José Iglesias G.
Phone: +58-14-380.58.06
Phone: +58-16-702.45.51
E-mail: jjiglesias@...
E-mail: jj_iglesias@...

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