ShareThisElderly couple rushed to Stanford Hospital,
woman and 2 sons from Colorado now safe
WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO – An elderly Filipino-American couple, a woman and her sons were among the passengers injured when an Asiana airplane carrying more than 230 passengers from Seoul, South Korea crashed at the San Francisco International Airport last Saturday. At least two persons were killed and more than 100 were injured in that crash.
The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. posted on its website the names of the couple as Ruben Vallero, 75, and Belen Vallero, 73.
Quoting a report of Bombo Radyo Philippines relayed by the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, the Philippine Embassy said the Vallero couple sustained internal injuries.
The couple had been allowed home after they were rescued from the burning plane but complained at home of possible internal bleeding. They were rushed to the Stanford Hospital for treatment and were reported to be scheduled to be discharged any time.
According to the report received by the Philippine Embassy, the Valleros took Asiana Flight 214 back to San Francisco after a three-week vacation in the Philippines.
The couple initially appeared okay but were rushed to the hospital from home after exhibiting signs of internal bleeding, according to the report.
Mr. Vallero was reported to have thanked the Philippines Consulate in San Francisco for checking on their condition.
The Philippines Consulate in San Francisco earlier reported that there was no PH passport holders and no Filipino-sounding names among US passport holders on board Flight 214 which crashed while landing at the San Francisco International Airport.
Earlier, the Philippines Consulate in San Francisco reported that despite requests, it has still not been given access to passenger manifest of Asiana Flight 214
Earlier, the Philippine Embassy reported that a Filipino-American woman from Fort Collins in Colorado and her sons were identified to be among the injured passengers of Asiana Flight 214.
Philippine Consul General Marciano Paynor Jr. identified the woman as Maricel Anino Knaus of Fort Collins, Colorado. Her two sons, who are American passport holders, were not immediately identified.
The Philippine Embassy, quoting the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco, said Knaus and her sons have already been discharged from the San Francisco General Hospital.
According to an ABS-CBN report, relatives of Maricel Knaus in Cebu sought the assistance of the network in checking on Maricel and her condition. The Philippine embassy said on Twitter that . “ABS-CBN in turn conveyed info to [the] Philippine Consulate.”
Asiana Airlines has been one of the favorite airlines of Filipinos and Filipino Americans because it offers competitive fares, good food and has courteous staff, according to Conrado Camilosa, general manager of Place One Travelf in San Bruno.
Camilosa said Asiana Airlines also offer direct flights to Cebu and Clark in Pampanga.
The Philippine embassy said the Philippine Consulate had anticipated the possibility that Filipino-Americans may be among the flight’s passengers.
It said the consulate “has communicated this several times with authorities.”
According to the embassy, the Consulate had earlier been told that “no Philippine passport holders and no Filipino-sounding names (were) among (the) US passport holders on board Flight 214.
Many Filipino workers at the airport witnessed the crash, according to ABS-CBN.
“Nung pag-touchdown nakita namin. Tapos nun tumaas ba yung unahan tapos bumaba yung buntot. Nung pagbaba ng buntot umusok na, maputi munang usok tapos nung magtagal itim na! Nakakatakot naman! Kitang-kita namin. Nerbiyos na nerbiyos kami,” said Lolita Laqui , a Filipino passenger service assistant.
Bai Robinson, another Filipino airport worker, saw the Boeing 777 catch fire.
“All of a sudden, we saw smoke and then everybody was in a commotion, going to the windows, trying to see what was going on. We were looking. Then, we saw fire,” she related.
Investigators probing the plane crash began interviewing the cockpit crew of the Boeing 777 amid mounting indications that pilot error may have caused the fatal accident.It was gathered that the pilot was on his first training flight for the aircraft with a co-pilot also on a first flight to train the pilot.
Two teenage Chinese girls were killed and more than 180 people were injured in the crash.
Deborah Hersman, head of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), immediately conduct an investigation.
Flight data showed the plane had been traveling at approximately 106 knots at impact — sharply lower than the target speed necessary for landing.
“137 knots is the speed that they want to have when they cross the threshold of the runway,” Hersman said, noting that the aircraft crew were tasked with ensuring the correct speed of the plane.
Asiana Airlines apologized for the tragic accident. Executives also confirmed that the pilot of the aircraft, 46-year-old Lee Kang-Kuk, was being trained on operating the Boeing 777. The trainer assigned to guide him, Lee Jung-Min, was on his first day of the job, Asiana later added.
The airline said pilot Lee had just 43 hours of experience in piloting the popular passenger aircraft, although he had accumulated more than 9,000 hours of flight time experience on other planes.
Lee Jung-Min, the trainer, had more than 3,000 hours of flight time on the Boeing 777, a spokeswoman for the airline said.