100 Passengers From Asiana Flight 214 Sue Boeing For Negligence In SFO Crash
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A group of 100 passengers who were aboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that crash landed at SFO Airport last July, are suing Boeing, the company that builds the 777 jetliner.
The suit alleges that negligence by the company contributed to the crash. In the initial National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation, the three Asiana Airlines pilots said they realized the jet's approach speed was low and set the auto throttle to correct it, but then realized it was too late and speed never increased.
Seconds later the jet crashed onto the runway. In a lawsuit filed in Chicago, lawyers for 100 of the passengers contend the 777 had inadequate auto-throttle control and low airspeed warning.
"Anybody who has a fingerprint on that airplane is gonna get served with a suit somehow," said aviation industry consultant Mike Boyd.
Boyd said it's difficult to say whether or not Boeing is really liable in the crash.
"There's no indication looking at history that there's been a safety problem with that airplane over the last 20 years."
After a 2009 Turkish Airlines crash outside Paris, Boeing retrofitted hundreds of its 737 aircrafts with low-speed warning systems that give audible commands. In all three people died and another 180 were injured in the Asiana Airlines crash at SFO Airport.