Updated: 777 crash at SFO, 2 reported dead, 181 taken to hospital, 1 still unaccounted for

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proxyAt around 11:30 this morning, Asiana Airlines flight 214 crashed prior to landing at San Francisco International Airport. The flight departed yesterday at 4:30 from Seoul, South Korea.

According to reports from local news, the tail section of the Boeing 777 aircraft hit the runway and broke off of the plane. The fuselage then skidded across the runway, before coming to a stop.

Samsung executive David Eun was on board, and posted this to Path following the crash:

 

Fire crews are on scene, and the fire on board the plane has been put out. No official word has been released on the status of the plane’s passengers, but Flightaware has tweeted that there are no fatalities. Local news is saying that there are two confirmed fatalities, and 61 injuries among people onboard the flight.

The airport is currently closed, and a number of flights have been cancelled. Update: two runways at SFO have re-opened.

UPDATE (1:35 PM PDT): Boeing just tweeted a statement from its @BoeingAirplanes account regarding the accident.

 

UPDATE (1:41 PM): According to a post to her Facebook page, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was originally supposed to be on Flight 214, but switched her ticket to United in order to use frequent flyer miles.

UPDATE (1:46 PM): According to tweets by ABC’s David Muir and NBC Bay Area’s Laura Garcia Cannon, at least one source close to the investigation into the crash says that the pilot did not make any distress call prior to landing.

UPDATE (1:52 PM): According to reports from local Fox affiliate KTVU, the San Francisco Fire Department has confirmed that 2 people on board the aircraft were killed, and 61 were injured.

UPDATE (2:10 PM): Youtube user Bryan Piper uploaded this video of the scene at SFO one minute after the crash:

UPDATE (2:31 PM): Echoing its tweet from earlier, Boeing just posted a statement to its website that reads: “Boeing extends its concern for the safety for those on board Asiana Airlines Flight 214. Boeing is preparing to provide technical assistance to the National Transportation Safety Board as it investigates the accident.”

UPDATE (2:41 PM): A new tweet from the official SFO twitter account says that the airport plans to reopen two runways “shortly.”

UPDATE (3:05 PM): According to a representative of the NTSB, Boeing will “likely be one of the parties to (their) investigation” into the accident. A NTSB team will be departing Washington, DC shortly and will be on the scene tonight.

UPDATE (3:14 PM): According to NBC Bay Area, the glide slope equipment for the runway flight 214 was slated to land on was not operational due to construction.

UPDATE (3:34 PM): Two runways at SFO have just reopened, according to the official airport twitter account.

UPDATE (3:57 PM): Asiana Airlines just posted the following to its Twitter account:

UPDATE (4:12 PM): “Not everyone has yet been accounted for,” San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said in a press conference.

UPDATE (4:17 PM): “At this point in time, there is no indication of terrorism involved,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Dave Johnson.

UPDATE (4:18 PM): According to Joanne Hayes-White, Chief of the SF Fire Department, there are currently “upwards of 60” people unaccounted for.

UPDATE (5:56 PM): Only one person listed as on board flight 214 is unaccounted for at this time. The current tally is as follows: 181 people were transported to local hospitals, 123 are the airport, 2 are dead, and 1 is unaccounted for.

We’ll update this post as new developments emerge.

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