NTSB Sends Team to Aid Korean Crash Investigation
A Boeing 747-400F cargo plane operated by Asiana Airlines crashed July 28 into the East China Sea after its pilots reported an in-flight fire.
A team of National Transportation Safety Board investigators has been dispatched to help the South Korean government investigate the July 28 crash of Asiana flight 991, a Boeing 747-400F cargo plane, after its two pilots reported an in-flight fire.
According to the Alexandria, Va.-based Flight Safety Foundation, this accident is the 52nd loss of a Boeing 747. The foundation's data about the crash says the pilots reported the fire an hour after taking off from Seoul Incheon International Airport and said they were diverting to Jeju Island, South Korea.
Both pilots died when the plane crashed into the East China Sea at about 4:12 a.m., according to NTSB. The flight's original destination was Shanghai Pudong International Airport in the People's Republic of China.
The plane carried 58 tonnes of cargo, "including 0.4 tonnes of potentially risky materials such as lithium batteries, paint, amino acid solution and synthetic resin," the foundation's report states.
NTSB has designated air safety investigator John Lovell as the traveling U.S. Accredited Representative. NTSB said he is being assisted by an NTSB Operational Factors investigator and advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.