U.S. aviation officials are no longer allowing foreign airlines to land alongside another plane when touching down at San Francisco International Airport in the wake of the deadly Asiana Airlines crash.
Tag Archives: San Francisco International Airport
San Francisco airport officials make citizen arrests of ride-share drivers
Officials at San Francisco International Airport have been making citizen’s arrests and issuing citations to ride and car share drivers who pick up or drop off passengers at the curb. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Sidecar warns drivers to steer clear of airport after arrests
Sidecar is advising its drivers to steer clear of San Francisco International Airport after officials there started issuing citations to drivers for picking up and dropping off passengers.
“We’ve heard rumblings that there may be increased enforcement actions at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and media is reporting a citizen’s arrest of a Lyft driver,” Sidecar told its drivers in an email Tuesday.
In March, the airport sent cease-and-desist letters to Sidecar, Lyft and Uber, “claiming that ride-sharing services are not allowed to operate on SFO property,” the email said.
“We want to let you know that we are working hard to get this situation resolved ASAP. In the meantime and until the situation is resolved, we are advising that you avoid trips to SFO,” Sidecar told its drivers.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld
Foreign airlines urged to use GPS at San Francisco
The Federal Aviation Administration is advising all foreign airlines to use a GPS system instead of visual approaches when landing at San Francisco International Airport in the wake of the deadly Asiana Airlines crash. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org
South Korea officials say Asiana crash pilots hospitalized
Officials say four South Korean pilots of an Asiana plane that crash-landed in San Francisco this month are being treated for psychological trauma and injuries caused by the incident.
Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry officials said Wednesday that the pilots have been hospitalized in South Korea following medical checkups after returning home over the weekend.
The pilots underwent questioning by a U.S. and South Korean joint investigation team while in the U.S. South Korean officials plan to conduct a separate interview with them.
The ministry officials say the interview can start as early as Friday at doctors’ recommendation.
The officials gave no further details and spoke on condition of anonymity citing department rules.
The Asiana plane crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, killing three and injuring dozens.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
83 Asiana plane crash survivors to sue Boeing, airline
A Chicago law firm says it has taken steps to sue aircraft manufacturer Boeing Co. on behalf of 83 people who were aboard the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed in San Francisco earlier this month, claiming in a court filing that the crash might have been caused by a mechanical malfunction of the Boeing 777’s auto throttle.
Ribbeck Law Chartered on Monday filed a petition for discovery — a move meant to preserve evidence — in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where Boeing is headquartered. The law firm said in a news release that additional pleadings will be filed against Asiana Airlines and several component parts manufacturers in coming days. Ribbeck said that in addition to potential problems with the auto throttle, some emergency slides reportedly opened inside the plane, injuring passengers and blocking their exit, and some passengers had to be cut out of their seatbelts with a knife.
Three people were killed when the airplane, carrying 307 passengers and crew on a flight from South Korea to San Francisco International Airport on July 6, approached the runway too low and slow. It clipped a seawall at the end of a runway, tearing off the tail and sending the plane spinning down the runway. The impact caused the plane to catch fire.
”We must find the causes of the crash and demand that the problems with the airline and the aircraft are immediately resolved to avoid future tragedies,” attorney Monica R. Kelly, head of Ribbeck’s aviation department, said in a written statement.
Boeing spokesman John Dern said the company had no comment.
The petition asks a judge to order Boeing to identify the designer and manufacturer of the airplane’s autothrottle and its emergency evacuation slides. It also seeks information on the systems that indicate the airplane’s glide slope and that warn how close it is to the ground. Kelly said the firm wants to protect the wreckage ”from destructive testing” and to obtain maintenance records, internal memos and other evidence.
The pilots of Asiana Flight 214 have told investigators they were relying on automated cockpit equipment to control their speed. Inspectors found that the autothrottle had been ”armed,” or made ready for activation, but investigators are still determining whether it had been engaged, the National Transportation Safety Board has said.
Two of the plane’s eight slides malfunctioned, opening inside the cabin and pinning two flight attendants underneath.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Asiana Grounds Plane With Engine Oil Leak, Passengers Wait 17 Hours
By The Huffington Post News Editors
SEOUL, July 17 (Reuters) – Asiana Airlines Inc on Wednesday said it grounded one of its Boeing 777 jets in Los Angeles when an engine started leaking oil, less than two weeks after one of the South Korean carrier’s 777s crash landed in San Francisco.
The leak was found on Monday as the plane prepared for takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport bound for South Korea’s Incheon airport, the airline said. The passenger jet underwent maintenance and passengers had to wait about 17 hours before they could fly on another plane.
The incident came nine days after a Boeing 777 operated by Asiana crash-landed on July 6 at San Francisco International Airport, resulting in the deaths of three teenage girls and injuring over 180 other passengers and crew.
U.S. and South Korean authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Initial information from the investigation has indicated the plane was flying too slowly as it came in to land.
Another Asiana-operated Boeing 777 was delayed in San Francisco on June 2 due to an oil leak in one of its engines.
On July 8 a San Francisco-bound Boeing Co 777 operated by Japan Airlines Co turned back to Tokyo after its crew detected a leak in the hydraulic system that controls its flaps.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Asiana Passengers Eye Legal Action After San Francisco Plane Crash
By The Huffington Post News Editors
By Jessica Dye
July 16 (Reuters) – Asiana Airlines Inc and Boeing Co are facing potential legal action by passengers who were on board a flight that crashed in San Francisco on July 6, killing three and injuring more than 180, according to U.S. court filings.
The Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 had more than 300 passengers and crew members on board when it crashed while landing at San Francisco International Airport. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the causes of the crash.
A petition for discovery has been filed against Boeing in Chicago court, where the airplane manufacturer is headquartered. The petition begins the legal process against the maker of the Boeing 777, according to a statement from Ribbeck Law Chartered, a law firm representing the passengers.
The firm announced the petition, filed Monday, in a press release on Tuesday.
The passengers are seeking design, manufacturing and safety information, as well as maintenance records and other relevant evidence, in order to determine legal liability for the crash, according to their lawyers.
Similar requests may be filed against other companies, including Asiana Airlines and several unnamed makers of component parts, in the coming days, the law firm said.
A spokesman for Boeing declined to comment.
On Monday, South Korea-based Asiana Airlines was sued in federal court in California by a Korean woman, Younga Jun Machorro, and her son, who were passengers the Asiana Airlines flight.
The lawsuit alleged that the Asiana flight crew committed “an extensive litany of errors and omissions” and were improperly trained and supervised, causing the crash.
They are seeking at least $5 million in damages for “extreme bodily and mental injuries and economic damages” allegedly suffered as a result of the crash, according to the lawsuit.
A spokesman for Asiana Airlines declined to comment.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Asiana Airlines to sue TV station over fake pilot names report
Asiana said Monday that it will sue a San Francisco TV station that damaged the airline’s reputation by using bogus and racially offensive names for four pilots on a plane that crashed earlier this month in San Francisco.
An anchor for KTVU-TV read the names on the air Friday and then apologized after a break. The report was accompanied by a graphic with the phony names listed alongside a photo of the burned-out plane that had crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, killing three and injuring dozens.
Video of the report has spread widely across the Internet since it was broadcast.
The National Transportation Safety Board has also apologized, saying a summer intern erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew.
Asiana has decided to sue KTVU-TV to “strongly respond to its racially discriminatory report” that disparaged Asians, Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said. She said the airline will likely file suit in U.S. courts.
She said the report seriously damaged Asiana’s reputation. Asiana hasn’t determined whether to launch a similar suit against the NTSB, Lee said.
Neither the station nor the NTSB commented on where the names originated.
The four pilots, who underwent questioning by a U.S. and South Korean joint investigation team while in the U.S., returned to South Korea on Saturday. South Korean officials plan to conduct separate interviews with them, South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Sunday.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Asiana says TV station damaged its reputation
Asiana Airlines says its reputation was damaged by a report on a San Francisco TV station that used bogus names for four pilots on its plane that crashed last week that were a play on Asian names and that it is considering legal action.
An anchor for KTVU-TV read the racially offensive names on the air Friday before apologizing for the error after a break. The National Transportation Safety Board has apologized, saying a summer intern erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew.
An Asiana statement Sunday said that the KTVU-TV report “badly damaged” the reputation of the airline and its pilots.
It didn’t say what legal measures Asiana is considering.
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6, killing three and injuring dozens.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
TV station reports bogus Asiana crash pilot names
A San Francisco Bay Area TV station has apologized after reporting bogus names of the four pilots aboard Asiana Airlines flight 214 that were a play on Asian names.
KTVU-TV co-anchor Tori Campbell read the racially offensive names on the air Friday. The report was accompanied by a graphic with the phony names listed alongside a photo of the burned out plane.
After a break, Campbell apologized for the error. She said a National Transportation Safety Board official confirmed the names to the station.
Video of the report spread across the Internet Friday.
Paul Cheung, president of the Asian American Journalists Association, released a statement saying KTVU’s reporting of the names was “not only wrong, but grossly offensive.” The phony names caricatured Asian names, said Cheung, who also is interactive and graphics editor for The Associated Press.
In a statement on its website, KTVU said it had made a mistake by not phonetically sounding out the names.
“We heard this person verify the information without questioning who they were and then rushed the names on our noon newscast,” the station said.
The NTSB also apologized and said a summer intern “acted outside the scope of his authority” when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew.
“Appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that such a serious error is not repeated,” the NTSB said in a statement.
Neither the station nor the NTSB commented on where the names originated.
Flight 214 crashed Saturday at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring dozens.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News
Prison for man caught with meth at Calif. airport
Prosecutors say a man caught smuggling 17 pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine in three false-bottom suitcases at San Francisco International Airport has been sentenced to 12½ years in prison.
The San Jose Mercury News reports (http://bit.ly/16gvwtK ) 22-year-old Pedro Daniel Rodriguez was headed to Sydney, Australia, with the drugs when he was caught at SFO.
Rodriguez pleaded guilty in September to six felony charges. He will have five years of supervised release after he’s released from prison.
U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag says Rodriguez arrived at SFO on Dec. 29, 2011, on a Continental Airlines flight from Guadalajara, Mexico. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers chose him for an extra search and then found 13 pounds of methamphetamine and four pounds of cocaine.
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Information from: San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, http://www.mercurynews.com
ETC: FlightCar offers free airport parking in exchange for renting out your car
By John Neff
Filed under: Etc.
Three young entrepreneurs from California have come up with an idea that could earn you free parking at the airport. What’s the catch? You let them rent out your car while you’re gone.
The start-up, called FlightCar, is the brainchild of three barely out-of-high-school business-minded individuals. The idea is to realize the possible synergy of people arriving for a flight with a car they need to put somewhere, and people arriving on a flight who need to rent a car.
The benefit to the car owner is that his or her vehicle is whisked away from the airport upon their arrival and then given back to them at the curb upon their return, free of charge. The car is cleaned and gassed up to pre-trip levels, and the owner even gets a gas card worth at least $10.
How about the renter? That person, who in this case wouldn’t be a renter so much as a member of a car-sharing service (like ZipCar or RelayRides), gets a vehicle to use while in town at a much cheaper rate than a normal rental car. One example given by Boston.com, which published an article on the start-up recently, was a Volkswagen Touareg that FlightCar could rent for $30/day, compared to a BMW SUV from Avis that cost $210/day.
FlightCar is still in its infancy and only operating at the San Francisco International Airport, but that shouldn’t dissuade you from participating as either a renter or owner. Each car is covered by a $1,000,000 insurance policy for liability, comprehensive collision and theft, and renters must even meet eligibility requirements. The company also only accepts cars with less than 150,000 miles that are model year 1999 or newer. Plus, the selection looks more interesting than what’s offered at your average rental car counter, including a nice 2003 Mercury Marauder that’s available to rent next week.
Continue reading FlightCar offers free airport parking in exchange for renting out your car
FlightCar offers free airport parking in exchange for renting out your car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 24 Feb 2013 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Autoblog
Hong Kong resident charged in NY stolen parts case
A Hong Kong resident charged in New York with selling equipment that was stolen from the U.S. military has been arrested.
Federal authorities in New York said Tuesday that Kwok Kuen Leung was arrested a day earlier at San Francisco International Airport.
Leung appeared in federal court in San Francisco and has been ordered detained. A message seeking comment from his lawyer hasn’t been returned.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (buh-RAH‘-ruh) says Leung tried to operate under the radar to import into the United States stolen equipment that could be used as weapons.
Authorities say in 2005 Leung sold infrared laser aiming devices stolen from U.S. military installations. They say he also smuggled military equipment into the U.S. multiple times from 2005 through 2009.
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News