Flight Tried to Abort Landing Seconds Before Crash

Some news from the cockpit voice recorder of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 is finally in: the jetliner tried to abort its landing and come around for another try 1.5 seconds before it crashed at San Francisco airport, says NTSB chief Deborah Hersman. There was also a call to increase airspeed roughly two seconds before impact. Before that, she says, there was no indication in the recordings that the aircraft was having any problems before it crashed yesterday, killing two passengers and injuring scores of others.

Investigators took the flight data recorder to DC overnight to begin examining its contents for clues to the last moments of the flight. They also plan to interview the pilots, the crew and passengers. Hersman says investigators are looking into what role the shutdown of a key navigational aid may have played in the crash. The glide slope—a ground-based aid that helps pilots stay on course while landing—had been shut down since June, though the pilots were sent a warning about it. (More NTSB stories.)