Series of "Real-Time" Reports on the Crash of KAL Flt. 801 in Guam
EmergencyNet News *FLASH* Report
08/05/97 - 12:31CDT
Korean Airlines 747 Missing, Feared Crashed
By C. L. Staten, Sr. Analyst
Chicago, IL, (EmergencyNet News) -- According to the Federal Aviation Administration, a Korean Airlines 747, Flight 801, with 331 souls aboard has been declared missing and presumed crashed near Agana International airport on Guam. The airliner was cleared to land at Agana when it disappeared off the radar screen. A search for the aircraft is said to be underway.
No further details are currently available at the time of this report. EmergencyNet News continues to monitor details and will provide updates as more becomes available.
**FLASH** MESSAGE
EmergencyNet NEWS Service Tuesday, August 5, 1997 1430 CDT
KOREAN AIRLINER CRASHES IN GUAM
GUAM (ENN) - At least 29 surviviors are being reported after a Korean Airlines Boeing 747-300 crashed on approach on the island of Guam in the middle of the night. KAL Flight 801 from Seoul, South Korea, to Guam was said to be cleared to land at Agana International Airport when radar contact was lost when the jetliner was about three miles from the airport.
The plane went down in rough terrain in a hilly area, It is being said that at least 231 souls were aboard the airliner. Reports are that it had been raining on and off all day in Guam, but it is unknown if the weather was the factor in the crash.
A large fire was reported at the scene of the crash. The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is now assembling a "GO" investigation team and they will be sent to the scene of the crash aboard a U.S. Air Force aircraft.
Late reports are that one more survivor, a female, may have been just found.
EmergencyNet continues to
monitor all developments in this incident.
**FLASH** MESSAGE
EmergencyNet NEWS Service Tuesday, August 5, 1997 1815 CDT
KOREAN AIRLINER CRASHES IN GUAM UPDATE
AGANA, GUAM (ENN) - It is still be reported that 29 or 30 people managed to survive when a 13-year-old Korean Air Boeing 747-300 with at least 254 souls aboard crashed in flames early on Wednesday while attempting to land on Guam in the middle of the night. KAL Flight 801 from Seoul, South Korea, to Guam was cleared to land when contact was lost as the jetliner was three miles out from Guam's A.B. Won Pat International Airport.
The plane crashed on Nimitz Hill, said to be a rugged, forested hill. There was a widespread fire area on the ground. The U.S. Coast Guard in Guam was involved in the rescue attempt, as was the governor of the island, who said that he, his bodyguard and a policemen were the first on the scene and rescued an 11-year-old child. The governor said that the victim said that the flight was perfectly normal up until the crash.
Reports of a fire on board and that a in-flight emergency was declared are said to be unsubstantiated. James Hall, the chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, said that the crash occurred in heavy rain and light winds. A "GO" team of 12 officials from Washington will be leaving for Guam at 2000 EDT.
The tiny island of Guam is the United States' westernmost possession. Its population is 150,000. Guam is 4,000 miles west of Honolulu and 2,200 southeast of Seoul. Roughly one-third of Guam's 212 square miles (The size of the city of Chicago.) is taken up by military bases.
EmergencyNet continues to monitor all developments in this incident.
EMERGENCY SERVICES REPORT-EmergencyNet NEWS Service-Wednesday, August 6, 1997 Vol. 1 - 218
KOREAN AIRLINER CRASHES ON GUAM
By the EmergencyNet News
Staff
AGANA, GUAM (ENN) - At least 30 of the 254 souls aboard a Korean Air jetliner survived after it crashed into the dense jungle of Guam early on Wednesday. The Boeing 747-300 slammed into a rocky hill and erupted into a ball of fire. Some of the survivors reportedly were able to walk away from the wreckage.
The airliner from Seoul, South Korea, came to rest in a deep ravine three miles from the airport on the U.S. island possession in the South Pacific. Seventeen hours after the crash, rescuers said they had found all the survivors. U.S. Air Force Colonel Al Riggle said, "We scoured the whole area all day today. We know there are some bodies still down there, but it's smoldering too hot."
Korean Air Flight 801 was carrying mostly Korean tourists, including many families heading to Guam's tropical beaches for a vacation, when it crashed in a driving rain just before 0200 hours. On board were 23 crewmembers and at least 13 Americans.
The survivors are said to have come from the front of the plane, which was largely intact, but the plane's pilot and co-pilot were missing and presumed dead.
Guam Governor Guiterrez, one of the first people on the scene, said rain- soaked sawgrass covering the rocks made it so slippery it was impossible to carry survivors more than a few hazardous steps. Hundreds of rescuers had to make their way through mud and the towering, razor-sharp sawgrass.
The governor said, "It was eerie. As I got close to the scene I could hear the screams. We only had a single flashlight. We had to follow the sounds to find them."
Among the survivors the governor pulled from the plane was an 11-year-old Japanese girl, slightly hurt, trying to tend to a critically injured flight attendant.
U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Jim Lehner, head of the rescue operation, said he heard a small voice call out in Korean. He pulled a child from the wreckage, then found her mother. Some survivors walked away, he said.
One South Korean survivor, Hong Hyon-sung, age 35, said there was no fire or explosion before the crash.
The plane, a Boeing 747-300 delivered to Korean Air in 1984, was attempting to land at an airport that lacked both a main landing system and a government-staffed control tower. The National Transportation Safety Board has sent a team to investigate. The voice and flight-data recorders have been sent to Washington for analysis.
Two U.S. Navy CH-46 Sea Knight helicopters, with pilots wearing night- vision goggles, rescued at least 30 survivors, many with burns. With the jet still smoldering, Navy Seabees moved in backhoes to crack open the fuselage and try to rescue anyone who might still be alive.
A police officer said, "We were getting there and people were just screaming. We wanted to help everybody but we couldn't."
The A.B. Won Pat International Airport control tower lost contact with the plane about 0150 hours on Wednesday. A landing system known as the glide slope, which leads planes to the runway, had been out of service at the airport. Such outages are not uncommon, and pilots routinely land with the help of an electronic devices that provide locators.
(c) Copyright, EmergencyNet NEWS Service, 1997. All Rights Reserved. Redistribution without permission is prohibited by law.
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