Some firefighters assumed injured Asiana passenger lying on tarmac was already dead
On Tuesday night CBS News broadcast, for the first time, video shot by firefighters minutes after a Boeing Triple 7 crashed at San Francisco International Airport last summer.
The pictures raise questions about why a 16-year-old girl who survived the crash was struck and killed by a fire truck. The girl's family has filed a claim against the city.
"There are essentially two large
openings, one in the middle of the fuselage and one in the front of the
fuselage," a rescue worker says.
Video from the fire truck and helmet cam show firefighters risked their lives to get near and inside the burning plane.
Asks one: "Why don't we just go in the opening here -- it's so easy."
"There's fire right there, man!" a chief responds.
Some firefighters saw the 16-year-old Ye Meng Yuan near the wreckage but assumed she was dead. The coroner says Ye actually survived the crash but was killed by a fire truck that accidentally ran her over.
"My God," answers another.
A summary of interviews conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board shows one airport safety officer described firefighters as "all jockeying for position and looking at the fire, not at what was outside their vehicle."San Francisco Fire Department protocols say the dead may be "left in place" but must "be labeled as deceased."
But the department's safety plan does call for spotters to help drivers. This spotter got out to direct a driver around Ye's body, but that firefighter then left to go inside the plane.
The San Francisco Fire Department still won't comment on the videos. Firefighters from that department are now receiving additional training in Texas. More than 300 passengers survived the crash.
