Another Accident
An Asiana Airlines flight missed the runway at Hiroshima's airport on April 14, clipping a communications tower about 300 meters before the start of the runway. This event may prove to be as disastrous to the airline as the accident in San Francisco two years ago.
The two accidents share a common aspect in faulty guidance radar, which mis-guided the airplane to ground too soon. On July 6, 2013, Asiana Airlines 214 (Boeing 777-200), carrying 291 passengers and 16 flight attendants, hit the seawall 300 meters ahead of the airstrip. The accident killed three people and injured 180 more.
In the most recent case, the airplane’s engine and wing were severely damaged, equivalent to the San Francisco case.
An expert told reporters from NHK, Japan's national broadcasting company, on April 15 that the airplane was “very lucky” to have made it to the airstrip after hitting the tower.
The cabin was evacuated as an emergency, it was reported. Many passengers told NHK that the airplane shook violently, and then suddenly lowered its flight height.
The Hiroshima Airport is still closed, having done so 15 minutes after the accident at 8.20 p.m., April 14.