{UAH} 777 HAS A FALSE SAFETY RECORD.

Popular Boeing 777 Has Had Strong Safety Record

San Francisco Accident Punctuates One of the Safest Periods of U.S. Civil Aviation

By 

JON OSTROWER 

CONNECT

Updated July 7, 2013 3:41 p.m. ET

The crash of an Asiana Airlines Boeing Co. BA -0.25% 777 at San Francisco International Airport involved a plane with a very strong safety record that is also part of Boeing's most popular family of large twin-engine jets.

The accident Saturday punctuates one of the safest periods of U.S. civil aviation, a record driven in part by improvements in plane technology.

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Two people were confirmed killed in Saturday's crash, while nearly 200 were taken to local hospitals, emergency officials said. With the cause not immediately clear, it was too early Saturday to say whether any mechanical issues contributed to the accident, or what it might mean for Boeing. The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to the site to investigate.

Boeing said in a statement that it "extends its deepest condolences to the families and friends of those who perished" on Asiana Airlines Flight 214 and it will join the NTSB "at their request to provide technical assistance to their investigation."

Dr. Margaret Knudson, chief of surgery at San Francisco General Hospital, describes the types of injuries sustained by passengers aboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214.

The incident comes as Boeing's business has been returning to normal following the three-and-a-half month grounding of another of its planes, the smaller 787 Dreamliner, for problems with lithium-ion batteries earlier this year. Boeing said this past week that its jetliner deliveries in the second quarter rose to a 15-year high, in part due to resumed Dreamliner deliveries.

The accident also comes as Boeing is working toward the launch of a new, more fuel-efficient version of the 777, known as the 777X, that Boeing hopes will continue the sales success it has had with the wide-body jetliner. Boeing also recently launched a stretched model of the 787 Dreamliner designed as a replacement for the type and size of jet involved in the San Francisco crash.

Boeing has delivered around 1,100 777s since 1995. It is sold today in three passenger models, with between 300 and 380 seats each. The model flown by Asiana, a 777-200ER, was a strengthened version of the original with a higher-thrust engine to carry more fuel and cargo for long-range routes like those between the U.S. and Asia.

The 777's ability to fly as many as 16 to 19 hours non-stop has made it a mainstay of global air travel connecting the U.S. to Asia, Europe and the Middle East and Australia. The jet has replaced many older, less-efficient Boeing 747 jumbo jets in airlines fleets.

It is widely used by many U.S. airlines, including United Continental Holdings Inc.,UAL -0.48% which operates 74 777s, American Airlines parent AMR Corp. , which operates 49, and Delta Air Lines Inc., DAL -0.03% which operates 18. Dubai-based Emirates Airlines is the largest customer for the 777 and operates more than 100 on routes across the world.

An Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 made a crash landing at San Francisco International Airport. Raw footage shows smoke coming from the plane. Photo/Video: YouTube/Scott Traylor.

Around 512 777s were airborne around the world Saturday evening, according to Flightaware.com, a flight-tracking website.

The 777 has had a nearly unblemished record, and was previously among a small group of long-range jets from Boeing and Airbus to have never sustained a fatality in service.

The one major previous accident involving a 777 occurred in January 2008 when aBritish Airways IAG.MC -1.38% 777 crash landed short of the runway at London's Heathrow International Airport after ice in the fuel lines blocked fuel to the engines. Nobody was injured in that accident, but it prompted changes to the 777's fuel systems.

The last major U.S. air accident occurred when a Bombardier Inc. BBD.B.T +0.28% Dash-8 Q400 flown by regional carrier Colgan Air crashed while on approach to Buffalo Niagra International Airport, killing 50 people. The worst U.S. accident prior to that came in 2001 when an American Airlines Airbus A300 crashed on Long Island shortly after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport, killing 265 people.

Saturday's crash, which occurred in excellent weather, left the Asiana 777's tail and other pieces of the plane strewn across the tarmac. Some eyewitness said they saw the planes nose move swiftly upward as it crossed the threshold of the landing strip, possibly causing the tail to hit the tarmac, in what is known as a tail strike.

Boeing has tried to improve the ability of pilots to control its jets through the use of what's called fly-by-wire flight controls, which enable pilots to manipulate the jet's directional controls using electronic signals rather than mechanical linkages from the cockpit.

The 777 was Boeing's first model to incorporate full fly-by-wire capability, which Boeing has since deployed to the Dreamliner and, in limited use, on its 747-8 jumbo jet.

Some newer versions of the 777s already have built-in safeguards to help pilots avoid hitting the tail on the runway during takeoffs, but that feature doesn't kick in during landings.

According to a 2007 technical briefing by Boeing, tail strikes on landing are frequently the result of an approach that isn't sufficiently stable—either too high, too low or off course—or can be a mishandling of heavy crosswinds by pilots. Such strikes on landing, wrote Boeing, "generally cause more damage than takeoff tail strikes because the tail may strike the runway before the main gear."

—Andy Pasztor contributed to this article.

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