Pilot Questioned In Plane Crash
U.S. experts interviewed the pilot and inspected the crash site Wednesday where a Chinese airliner carrying 166 people slammed into a mountain in rain and fog, killing 126 people.
Thirty-eight people survived Monday's crash and two are listed as missing.
The U.S. mission, part of a three-nation probe of Monday's crash of the Air China flight near Busan, was requested because the crash involved an American-built Boeing 767-200. China has joined South Korean officials in the investigation of the crash at South Korea's second largest city on the southeast coast.
"It's a typical impact," said Carolyn L. Deforge, an aerospace expert from the National Transportation Safety Board.
"We're here to get a sense of how the plane impacted and we will use the information to determine what avenues to pursue and whatever other details we need," she said. "We'll probably be here for a week (or) as long as they need us."
The U.S. investigators interviewed 31-year-old Wu Xinlu, the hospitalized pilot, before visiting the crash site. Wu suffered severe facial bruises and a minor brain hemorrhage.
Details of that interview were not released, but South Korean officials who spoke with Wu on Tuesday said he told them the plane was functioning normally before it hit the mountain.
South Korean officials have indicated the crash was the result of human error.
The 17-year-old aircraft was approaching Kimhae Airport in heavy rain and fog when it hit the 1,000-foot, forest-covered mountain. Most of the victims were South Korean.
Earlier Wednesday, about 100 South Korean relatives and friends of the victims trekked to the hilly crash site. Carrying flowers and photographs, they offered prayers or dug at the muddy ground.
Sohn Sang-moo, who lost his wife, Lee Myong-sook, brought an offering of one apple, one pear and a soda bottle wrapped in a pink tablecloth. He placed the fruit on the wet ground and bowed twice.
"Myong-sook! Myong-sook!" Sohn cried aloud. "We lived together for 41 years, two months and 19 days. I should have gone first."
The U.S. team included two experts from the NTSB and one each from the Federal Aviation Administration, Pratt & Whitney and Boeing.
South Korean officials said that the airport's control tower gave Wu's plane permission to land but asked the pilot to approach the runway from the opposite direction because of winds. The Boeing hit the mountain while circling to the other side of the airport.
The pilot was on his fifth flight to Kimhae, but Monday's was his first time approaching the runway from the opposite direction, officials said.
Survivors said the aircraft went down shortly after an in-flight announcement advising passengers to buckle their seat belts to prepare for landing.
Clues to the cause of the crash may be contained in cockpit voice and flight data recorders, both of which were recovered. Deciphering the "black box" data will take about one week, officials said.
Lee Pil-moon, a South Korean Transport Ministry official, said investigators had found the ground proximity warning system (GPWS), a device that alerts the pilot if the plane is getting too close to the ground and evasive action is required.
"We discovered it yesterday. In terms of its condition, we'll have to see," Lee told reporters.
The jet broke apart and caught on fire on impact, leaving a trail of fallen trees 100 feet wide and 330 feet long.
Officials prepared DNA tests to try to identify most of the burned and damaged bodies. Only four have been identified.
Officials displayed gruesome photos of the unidentified bodies or body parts at Kimhae City Hall, hoping that bereaved family members could help identify them.
Air China is the country's national flag carrier and one of three major international carriers based in China. It was the first fatal crash involving Air China since its founding in 1988.