Impact: Plane spotter Fred Hayes captures the moment Flight 214 cartwheels across the runway and crashes as it comes in to land at San Francisco airport
San Francisco Plane Crash Moment of impact | Asiana Airlines Crash
Dramatic amateur video footage that shows the moment that Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash-landed onto the runway at San Francisco airport has emerged as investigators revealed the the plane was traveling 'significantly below' its intended speed and its crew tried to abort the landing just seconds before it hit the seawall in front of the runway
Plane spotter Fred Hayes, captured the terrifying moment the deadly crash occurred on Saturday as the Boeing 777 came into land at the West Coast airport where it spun around before coming to a stop in a fiery cloud of dust and smoke.
Hayes had been filming planes taking off and landing about a mile away from the airport and his video confirms what the National Transportation Safety Board discovered in during their examination of the aircraft's black box - that the pilots tried to increase the aircraft's speed and abort its landing just seconds before it hit the seawall in front of the airport runway.
The footage, and a separate dramatic sequence of pictures, shows the entire crash, from the moment of impact, to when thick smoke started to pour out of the plane.
NTSB Chair Deborah Hersman, speaking at a news conference at the airport, said there were no indications of any problems with the plane or the landing until 7 seconds before impact, when the crew tried to increase the plane's speed. Hersman said data recorders show the plane was traveling 'significantly below' the planned speed.
The crew tried to initiate a 'go-around,' in which it would accelerate and abort the landing, just 1.5 seconds before impact. Controllers became aware of a problem only when they saw the plane hit the seawall.
Flight path: A sequence of pictures shows Asiana Airlines Flight 214 engulfed in smoke after crashing in San Francisco
Flight path: A sequence of pictures shows Asiana Airlines Flight 214 engulfed in smoke after crashing in San Francisco
Wreckage: The ceiling of the plane was destroyed by fire, which forced passengers to leave from emergency exits on one side only
What went wrong? Firecrews work to contain flames after a plane skidded onto a dirt area at San Francisco Airport on Saturday, killing two. Investigations are now underway to determine the cause
Black box: Greg Smith of the National Safety Board collects the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder from Flight 214
Search: Transportation investigators examine the inside of the aircraft as an inquiry into the crash begins
