Submitted by Aiken Jacobsen on
On July 6, a large passenger airplane crashed as it approached a runway at the San Francisco International Airport. As reports of hundreds of injuries and multiple deaths are streaming in, many people are wondering: What exactly caused the fatal Boeing 777 accident?
The pilot, employed by Asiana Airlines, was in training at the time of the accident. As such, many have raised the possibility of insufficient training on the part of the airline. Yet others say that may not be the root of the problem. One industry observer noted that every airline in the world is held to the same standard for pilot training programs, so this may not be the explanation for the accident.
As investigators continue to look at the circumstances behind the accident, the plane's flight path and the actions of the flight crew will likely be scrutinized. Reports note that the airplane's speed, altitude and trajectory needed to be adjusted just before landing. As the pilot tried to make corrections, the tail section of the plane struck water at the end of the runway. Some suggest that an "over-reliance on autopilot" may have been the reason why the pilot failed to correctly approach the landing.
The results of the accident investigation will likely play a role in what happens next. If it's determined that negligence contributed to the crash, then the accident victims or their family members might be able to pursue legal action. A wrongful death claim could in this case could be particularly complex, since a domestic accident involved a foreign company.
While this story continues to grip California and the rest of the nation, readers may want to pay attention for further developments in this tragic case.
Source: Christian Science Monitor, "Asiana Flight 214: Was the pilot training program to blame?" Steven Borowiec, July 12, 2013
