Revisiting Asiana Flight 214 - A Cabin Crew Perspective

The outstanding flight attendants' actions amidst a horrific accident


Photo: Alexander Novarro via Wikimedia Commons

It was Saturday, July 6th, 2013. Asiana Airlines Flight 214 had left Seoul Incheon Airport and was due to arrive at San Francisco International Airport at 11.04 am local time. The 10-hour flight had been uneventful. The Boeing 777-200ER was carrying 291 passengers, 4 flight crew, and 12 flight attendants.

The flight crew

The pilot in command was Captain Lee Jeong-min, who sat in the first officer's seat as he was the check instructor on this flight. In the captain's seat was Captain Lee Kang-kook, who was under supervision. Also on the flight deck was relief first officer Bong Dong-won, observing from the jump seat. Another relief pilot, Captain Lee Jong-joo, was seated in the business class cabin.

The flight attendants

The cabin manager was Lee Yoon-hye; she'd been flying with Asiana for 18 years. The remaining 11 flight attendants were Yoo Tae-sik, Han Woo-lee, Hong Jung-ah, Hyun Sook-young, Jeon Soo-min, Kim Ji-youn, Kim Youn-ju, Lee Jeong-mi, Lee Jin-he, Manninart Tinnakul, and Siritip Singhakarn.

The incident at SFO

As the aircraft descended, the flight attendants started to secure the cabin for landing. There was a group of Chinese students going to a summer camp, and the male flight attendant (seated at L2A) told them they must wear their seatbelts. The crew sat in their jump seats and prepared for landing. However, the aircraft was coming in too low, and though one of the pilots attempted a go-around, it was too late. The undercarriage struck the sea wall and impacted the runway; the engines and tail sheared off. The aircraft spun 330 degrees before coming to a halt next to the runway.

The impact

The flight attendants felt that the aircraft was coming in too fast. L2A could see out of his window and was worried they would land in the water. He yelled at L2B to brace. The aircraft pitched up slightly. The first impact was like a hard landing; one flight attendant described a crushing sensation. The aircraft seemed to lift again and was shaking and rolling. The flight attendants could feel the pressure of their harnesses. There was an even worse second impact, and two aircraft slides deployed inside the cabin. R1 and R2A were pinned into their seats by the slides. Items were flying around the cabin, oxygen masks came down along with ceiling panels, and dust was all around the cabin.

Evacuate?

Cabin Manager Lee at L1A asked L1B to check the cockpit to see if the flight crew were still alive. L1B knocked on the door, and they opened it. Lee wanted to evacuate and went to the cockpit to ask. They told her to 'standby.' L2A realized there was an emergency and waited for instructions. He heard his colleague at R2A scream for help as her legs were pinned against the galley next to her jump seat, trapped by a slide. He tried to free her but could not get her out. Lee asked again to evacuate, and the pilots told her to 'Please wait.' She made an announcement to ask the passengers to 'Remain seated.'

Evacuation starts

L2A saw fire and smoke outside the right window near the exit door. He knew they had to evacuate. Before returning to his seat, he heard the cabin manager's announcement to stay seated. He initiated the evacuation order from his station and did not hear the final command to evacuate. Doors 1 left and 2 left open simultaneously, 33 seconds after the aircraft came to a stop. Ten seconds after the evacuation order, passengers began to evacuate, some taking their baggage with them. At this point, there was no fire in the cabin.

"I wasn't really thinking, but my body started carrying out the steps needed for an evacuation, I was only thinking about rescuing the next passenger."

- Lee Yoon-hye, Cabin Manager on Flight 214

One of the relief pilots got a crash axe, punctured the slide, and released R1, who was suffocating. Cabin manager Lee gave him a used passenger knife from door 2 to puncture the slide and release R2A. They then helped her down the slide, her legs badly injured. A fire had broken out in the cabin, and Lee handed the relief pilot a fire extinguisher while she continued to evacuate passengers. Some passengers remained trapped in the cabin, and knives were passed around to cut seat belts. Some flight attendants were seen carrying injured passengers on their backs away from the burning aircraft.

"She was a hero. This tiny little girl was carrying people piggy back, running everywhere, with tears running down her face. She was crying but was still so calm and helping people."

- Passenger, Flight 214

The flight attendant at L3 had lost consciousness upon impact. She was still strapped in but knew this was a 'very bad situation.' She was confused when she heard the call to 'remain seated' and wanted to initiate the evacuation, but her interphone was not working. She released her seatbelt but could not open her exit door. She heard L2As voice and saw light from the door. She directed passengers towards door 2 left and door 3 right, which a passenger had opened, but the slide did not inflate. She evacuated when she could not breathe, as the black smoke prevented her from staying in the cabin.

The crew continued to evacuate the burning aircraft. Cabin manager Lee returned to the cabin numerous times to check for passengers and was the last person to leave the aircraft. She later found to have a broken tailbone.

Rear of the aircraft

R3 had her seatbelt securely fastened but still was thrown to the aircraft floor on impact and was seriously injured. The crew helped her down the slide. The flight attendants at R4 and L4 had been ejected from the rear galley as it disintegrated. They were found still in their seats attached to parts of the galley. There were bloodstains on the ground. They had significant skin abrasions from sliding down the runway with the aircraft tail. L4 had leg, foot, spine, and sternum fractures.

Twenty-two minutes after the accident, R4 managed to get out of her jump seat, and people were seen running to assist her. Flight attendants M4A and M4B were found on the runway 1000ft from their jump seats. They had major skin abrasions, fractures, and internal injuries. Two passengers from the school group who were not wearing their seatbelts were ejected from the aircraft and, unfortunately, killed. Another group member died at the hospital; she was wearing a seatbelt but was probably struck by door 4 on impact.

Aftermath

Responders and firefighters arrived at the aircraft and freed any trapped passengers. The four uninjured flight attendants and cabin manager continued their duties; they gathered passengers together and attended to the injured passengers and crew. They notified responders that four flight attendants were missing from the aircraft's rear. The evacuation involved less than half of their original crew and only two slides available, but they managed to evacuate successfully.

" A couple of our flight attendants were shaken up, but all were doing an outstanding and professional job of handling the passenger's needs and providing comfort to them. One of the flight attendants, contacted the unaccompanied minors' parents to assure them that their children were safe and would be taken care of by our crew. Their demeanor and professionalism during this horrific event was noteworthy."

- First Officer, Flight 214

Investigations concluded that the accident was caused by the pilots mishandling an automatic system that they didn't fully understand and mismanagement of the final approach. Crew training at the airline was also questioned. Of the 307 passengers and crew onboard, there were three fatalities, and 304 survivors, of whom 187 sustained injures.