Federal crash investigators revealed Wednesday that the pilot flying Asiana Airlines flight 214 told them that he was temporarily blinded by a bright light when 500 feet above the ground.
Deborah Hersman, chairwoman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said it wasn't clear what could have caused the problem. Asked specifically whether it could have been a laser pointed from the ground, Hersman said she couldn't say what caused it.
"We need to understand exactly what that is," Hersman said. "It was a temporary issue."
Her comments came during a daily press briefing on the Saturday crash of Asiana Flight 214 that left two dead and another 168 injured.
Federal crash Investigators previously said that pilots recognized they were too low and not lined up precisely with the runway while still 500 feet from the ground. At 500 feet, pilots recognized that they were low as the Boeing 777 was going 134 knots and was 34 seconds from impact. They continued to make adjustments until hitting the seawall at the end of the runway at San Francisco International Airport.
SOURCE:USA TODAY
RELATED INCIDENT:
Mysterious light blamed for circle of fire
Tasmanian police and firefighters are unable to explain the source of a beam of light which reportedly fell from the sky and formed a circle of fire in a Hobart suburb.
Early Saturday morning police and fire crews received calls from concerned residents in Carnegie Street at Claremont, who reported seeing a bright light igniting a fire in a nearby paddock.
Tasmania Fire Service officer Scott Vinen says the blaze was quickly put out, leaving an obvious burnt patch.
He says the bizarre incident has everyone baffled.
Early Saturday morning police and fire crews received calls from concerned residents in Carnegie Street at Claremont, who reported seeing a bright light igniting a fire in a nearby paddock.
Tasmania Fire Service officer Scott Vinen says the blaze was quickly put out, leaving an obvious burnt patch.
He says the bizarre incident has everyone baffled.
"Once we put the fire out, we kind of walked through the fire and tried to find something," he said.
"We thought a flare or something may have landed there, but we couldn't find any cause."
The Fire Service says it will not investigate further.
SOURCE: ABC NEWS