I flew into San Francisco this morning, on a direct flight from Sydney with United Airlines, landing within minutes of the Asiana Airlines crash at 11.20 am. It wasn’t until getting through customs that I became aware of the crash. First clue was stepping outside and seeing/hearing fire engines, ambulances and police cars arriving. I overheard an airline steward updating his colleague about the crash.
For an hour it was obvious that something serious was afoot. All flights were put on hold, and traffic to the airport was restricted. Hotel courtesy buses were delayed. At first I heard it was China Airlines. Someone else thought it was Virgin. Finally, on the way to my motel in Millbrae, just a couple of miles away from the airport, a teenager filled in the gaps with his smartphone – an Asiana Airlines flight had clipped the entrance to the runway, lost its tail, and spun out of control before breaking into flames. Fortunately all passengers were evacuated before the fireball erupted. Two, found on the rainway, have died. 182 taken to hospital. 123 uninjured. CNN is providing non-stop coverage.
Once I was able to access WiFi at the motel I put this photo below on Twitter and Facebook, just in case people were worried about me getting into SFO. A Facebook friend made some connections in Canberra leading to me doing a phone interview on ABC Canberra radio, from my table at Millbrae Starbucks. I feel part of the interconnectedness of all things. And tired.