A Florida company that specializes in animations that re-create crimes and accidents has released its animated take on the crash landing of Asiana Flight 214 at SFO earlier this month. Eyewitness Animations, which has been doing the animations for court cases and accident investigations for 23 years, shows the final 40 seconds of the Boeing 777’s flight to San Francisco and includes a “ghost airplane” in the sequence showing the proper flight path of the airliner. The crash airplane was going about 20 knots slower than it should have been so the ghost aircraft’s position relative to the crash plane had to be adjusted to keep it in the frame.
The animation shows a last-ditch attempt by the crew to clear the seawall at the end of the threshold of Runway 27L but by then it was too late. The right mains hit the wall followed by the tail, which breaks into three major pieces. The animation also shows the left engine rolling away as the aircraft rotates almost 360 degrees laterally and becomes briefly airborne before sliding to a stop on the infield. The animation also depicts first-class passengers in lap-and-shoulder harnesses that held them securely in their seats while those in coach had only lap belts. It has been widely reported that many of the injuries are back and head injuries caused when passengers were flung into the seats (and seatback TVs) in front of them.
