I just crash landed at SFO. Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I’m ok. Surreal… (at @flySFO) [pic] — https://t.co/E6Ur1XEfa4
— David Eun (@Eunner) July 6, 2013
An Asiana Airlines flight that follows a popular route in the tech industry between Shanghai, Seoul and San Francisco crash landed at San Francisco International Airport this morning, killing two people.
A Samsung executive who was aboard the flight, David Eun, reported that most passengers seemed unharmed in a photo he posted on Path. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was also almost on the flight, but switched to a United flight in order to use frequent flyer miles for her family. The flight originated in Shanghai, China and landed in Seoul before arriving at San Francisco at approximately 11:30 a.m. today.
We do not know if anyone else from our community was on board that plane, but Seoul-to-San Francisco is a pretty highly-trafficked route for tech workers who work for or do business with Samsung or any number of the larger gaming companies there.
Update: In a press conference held just now, San Francisco mayor Ed Lee said that responders had not accounted for all of the passengers aboard. About 60 people are not accounted for. The city confirmed two fatalities with 48 initial transports from the scene. They said it was not necessary for another 108 passengers to require hospitalization.
Eun, who runs Samsung’s Open Innovation Center, said he and most of the other passengers just cleared customs. He said in a post on Path about 30 minutes ago: “Just went through customs. Adrenaline rush is subsiding. Just trying to process all this. Really glad that most everyone I saw seemed ok, with just a few minor injuries. Thinking a lot about family and friends right now…”
Sandberg said she nearly took the flight, which was run by Asiana Airlines and took off from Seoul at 5:04 p.m. local time, with her family. But she changed airlines in order to use United frequent flyer miles for her family. She had been in South Korea, promoting her best-selling book “Lean In.”
“Taking a minute to be thankful and explain what happened. My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed. We switched to United so we could use miles for my family’s tickets. Our flight was scheduled to come in at the same time, but we were early and landed about 20 minutes before the crash. Our friend David Eun was on the Asiana flight and he is fine.
Thank you to everyone who is reaching out – and sorry if we worried anyone.
Serious moment to give thanks.”
It’s not clear why or how the plane crash-landed, but the tail apparently ripped off after the plane touched down. One witness told the Associated Press that the plane “cart-wheeled” down the runway.
The San Francisco Fire Department confirmed to CBS News earlier today that there were 61 injured in today’s tragic plane crash. The San Francisco Chronicle is also reporting that there are 40 injured with ten in critical condition, according to the San Francisco General Hospital. A spokesperson for the hospital said in a press conference later today that they had received an additional 17 patients. ABC News said that there were 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans and 61 U.S. citizens on board.
SFO had suspended all flights earlier today for a few hours, with some apparently being diverted to Oakland and Las Vegas. They just re-opened two runways.