San Francisco

San Francisco May Take $3.45 Million Payout for Deadly Asiana Crash

Asiana Flight 214 clipped a seawall on an approach to San Francisco International Airport and burst into flames on the runway July 6, 2013

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is considering a $3.45 million payout from Asiana Airlines to settle the city's claim from an airport crash that killed three people and injured nearly 200. 

City Attorney Dennis Herrera on Wednesday called the proposed settlement "the final chapter in the sad tragedy" caused when Asiana Flight 214 clipped a seawall on an approach to San Francisco International Airport and burst into flames on the runway July 6, 2013. 

About $1.2 million of the settlement will go toward the city's legal costs and another $1.6 million to the airport for damages stemming from the crash. The settlement also calls for Asiana to compensate San Francisco's aviation insurer. 

Representatives for the South Korean airliner could not immediately be reached for comment.

U.S. safety investigators blamed the pilots, saying they bungled the landing approach. But the National Transportation Safety Board also faulted the complexity of the Boeing 777's auto-throttle and auto-flight director, as well as use materials provided by Chicago-based Boeing. 

Three teenage girls died, including one who was run over by two rescue vehicles while she lay injured and covered in firefighting foam on the runway. Two others died while sitting in the tail section of the plane, which snapped off when it hit the seawall. 

The proposed settlement is scheduled to be heard in committee before it goes to the full board for approval. 

In 2015, more than 70 passengers settled their lawsuits against Asiana.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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