Plane crash at San Francisco International Airport

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Voronwë the Faithful
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Plane crash at San Francisco International Airport

Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

An Asiana airliner from South Korea crash landed at San Francisco International Airport this afternoon. So far as I have seen from The New York Times, 2 confirmed dead, 130 injured including 10 critical, and perhaps most concerning, 60 unaccounted for. Please pray or think positive thoughts for all of the victims and their families, and that the unaccounted for turn out to be okay.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/07/us/sa ... crash.html
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Post by Frelga »

I was just coming here to post about this. I truly hope that the 60 unaccounted for passengers are simply milling around in the confusion following the crash, or possibly even went on to other flights. Photos show many people leaving the plane unharmed.

Social media photos, mostly. It's amazing how many people apparently thought that the first thing to do on escaping a burning plane is to take pictures of it.

2 of the 10 critically injured are children. I will keep hoping for everyone's recovery, and for no further bad news for the currently missing.
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Post by nerdanel »

Absolutely tragic. I hate that what for so many of us is a place of comfort, our "home base," will now invoke for others memories of fear and injury and tragedy. Of course things are worse still for the two confirmed who have lost their lives and possibly for others among the unaccounted for 60. I hope the 60 will be located speedily.
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Post by elfshadow »

I was pretty shocked to see this. Commercial plane crashes are so rare, but they obviously still happen. :(

From the initial accounts of a couple passengers who posted on social media, it seemed like most of the passengers were fine. It was horrible to hear about the two confirmed deaths, though. I can't imagine that all sixty of those people could be actually missing? I hope they just haven't been positively identified by officials; the scene must be complete chaos.
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

They are now saying that only one person is unaccounted for.
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Post by WampusCat »

And now that person has been found. Only two dead ... amazing.
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Primula Baggins
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Post by Primula Baggins »

Only two dead, and 123 people completely unhurt. When I look at the plane, I just don't see how that's possible.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

Yes, it really does seem to be impossible. As horrible as this is, it could have been so, so much worse.
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Post by anthriel »

Primula Baggins wrote:Only two dead, and 123 people completely unhurt. When I look at the plane, I just don't see how that's possible.
That was my immediate reaction when I saw that photo, too. How did they manage that?

Such a horrible situation, though. I can't imagine how terrifying it would be to be on a plane that you know is going to crash.
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Post by elfshadow »

The two casualties were 16-year-old Chinese students on their way to summer camp. :(
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Post by Lalaith »

:( How sad.

I couldn't figure out if the damage was from after most people had gotten out or if that happened upon impact.
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Post by Primula Baggins »

There was a fire on the plane, but it must have happened after the passengers escaped. One local hospital spokesman said they they were treating some burns, but no severe ones.

So the roof burned through after everyone was out.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
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Post by Frelga »

The tail hit the ground pretty hard. :(
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Post by Lalaith »

Okay, that makes a little more sense. Looking at the pictures, I couldn't imagine very many people surviving that, but, if the fire happened after most people escaped, then that seems reasonable. And a very good thing!

Frelga, I wonder if the impact of the tail is what killed the girls. :(
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Post by Primula Baggins »

They were in the tail and fell out when it broke off—their bodies were found on the runway. :(
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King
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Post by Voronwë the Faithful »

How horrible. :(
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Post by narya »

Primula Baggins wrote:They were in the tail and fell out when it broke off—their bodies were found on the runway. :(
And one of them, the authorities now say, is "consistent with" injuries sustained while being run over by a fire truck. This has yet to be confirmed.
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Post by River »

I just saw that. Oof.
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Post by WampusCat »

And as one story pointed out, because of China's one-child policy, they were probably their families' only children.

:(
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