SFO Plane Crash: NTSB Looking at 'Human Side' of Crash

Updated 10:50 a.m.

By Bay City News Service —  Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have scheduled a 1:30 p.m. press conference at San Francisco International Airport to discuss the Asiana crash.

The investigators on Sunday were sifting through the wreckage of and have recovered the airplane's flight data recorder and cockpit recorder and sent the devices to Washington, D.C., for analysis.

  NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said investigators will be trying to evaluate "the human side" of the crash — pilot interaction and performance — as well as conditions at the airport and the airplane itself.

  "We're going to be looking at the aircraft and certainly looking at the airport and doing documentation as far as the airport and the environment goes," Hersman said.

  Hersman said that it could be up to a week before the actual remains of the aircraft could be removed from SFO's airfield.

  Two of four runways at SFO remained closed Sunday, and there are no immediate plans to reopen them, airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.

  The runway closures have caused a huge number of flight cancellations and diversions to other airports, including San Jose International Airport and Oakland International Airport. 

A total of 242 flights originating at SFO and 186 scheduled to land at SFO were cancelled Saturday, according to flightaware.com.

 Many airlines are waiving fees to reschedule travel for customers whose flights were cancelled or delayed.

  Companies including American Airlines, Delta, Virgin, Southwest and Jetblue are giving customers the chance to make a one-time ticket change at no cost if their flights to or from San Francisco International Airport were cancelled or delayed.

  The waived fees generally apply to guests with confirmed flights scheduled to depart from or arrive in San Francisco between Saturday and Monday.

  Travelers are advised to call their airline company for the latest update on flight delays or cancellations or to reschedule flights.

     Yakel noted that there had been some recent construction on Runway 28, where the crash occurred, that lengthened the runway's thresholds. 

  It is unclear whether that construction has any bearing on the crash. In fact, former commercial airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger, famous for the "Miracle on the Hudson" plane landing in New York, said the FAA-ordered runway construction at SFO was intended to avoid incidents exactly like Saturday's.

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