ASIANA PILOT CALLED FOR GO-AROUND
A pilot aboard Asiana Flight 214 called for a go-around 1.5 seconds before the tail of the aircraft struck a seawall off the end of Runway 28L and San Francisco International Airport Saturday morning. At a news conference Sunday, NTSB Chairwoman Debra Hersman said the cockpit voice recorder also recorded a crew member calling for more speed seven seconds before the aircraft struck the seawall, tearing off the tail and resulting in the deaths of two passengers. She also said preliminary flight data recorder information showed the aircraft was hanging on the stall before it smacked the concrete and rotated laterally almost 180 degrees before coming to rest on the grass beside the runway. Also, CNN has obtained amateur video of the crash sequence. Meanwhile, airport officials have confirmed the glideslope of the ILS system for Runway 28L at San Francisco International Airport wasn't working at the time of the crash. That means the Boeing 777's autoland system would not have been available to the crew and they would have had only localizer guidance to the runway. Visibility was unlimited and winds were light when the 777 touched down about 1,000 feet before the normal landing point, leaving its horizontal and vertical stabilizers on the threshold before careening off the runway. Two 16-year-old Chinese girls were killed and more than 180 others were hurt, about 50 of them seriously. More...

777 LANDING ACCIDENT AT SFO (UPDATED)
The CEO of Asiana Airlines has ruled out technical issues with the aircraft involved in Saturday's landing accident in San Francisco. "For now, we acknowledge that there were no problems caused by the 777-200 plane or (its) engines," Yoon Young-doo said at a news conference in Seoul Sunday. Yoon would not be drawn into blaming the pilots aboard the aircraft, which included three experienced captains. Two people died and about 180 were injured, some seriously, in the first fatal crash of the 777. Although the aircraft was eventually heavily damaged by a post-crash fire, it appears the fire didn't take hold until after the more than 300 people aboard had gotten off the aircraft. A photo tweeted by passenger David Eun moments after the crash showed passengers walking away from the aircraft and taking cellphone photos. "I just crash landed at SFO," wrote Eun in the tweet. "Tail ripped off. Most everyone seems fine. I'm ok. Surreal..." According to USA Today the aircraft hit a seawall that surrounds the airport and stopped about 2,500 feet north beside Runway 28L. All of the 307 aboard have now been accounted for. The bodies of the two girls were found outside the aircraft. More...

AVWEB INSIDER BLOG: SFO ACCIDENT -- SHOCKING IN ITS RARITY
If Saturday's crash of an Asiana 777 was a shocker, it's only because major hull losses like this are so rare in the U.S. The scheduled airlines now have a fatal accident rate that's effectively zero, and this accident won't change that much. Read more and join the conversation. More...

10 DEAD IN ALASKA OTTER CRASH
Nine passengers and the pilot aboard a de Havilland Otter air taxi died when the aircraft reportedly crashed on takeoff at the airport in Sodotna, AK late Sunday morning. The aircraft burned before firefighters could reach it. The airplane reportedly belonged to Rediske Air, of Nikiski, AK and may have been an Otter converted to turboprop using a Honeywell engine. More...

DAMAGED SOLAR IMPULSE LANDS EARLY
In the end, one of the most photographed aircraft journeys in U.S. history will have one shot missing, but for the crew of Solar Impulse the mission to fly their solar-powered aircraft across the country has been accomplished. The fragile aircraft, which makes power on its solar-cell-covered wings and stores it in batteries, landed about 11 p.m. at JFK in New York on Saturday night with pilot Andre Borschberg at the controls. The landing came three hours early and before the iconic aircraft could take a victory lap over Manhattan and have its picture taken with the Statue of Liberty. An eight-foot tear in the fabric on the underside of the left wing prompted the crew to set down as soon as possible. The tear caused a minor balance issue but did not seriously threaten the flight. "It was supposed to be the shortest and easiest leg," Bertrand Piccard, who co-founded the project with Borschberg, said after the aircraft landed. "It was the most difficult one." And as pilots familiar with New York will attest, it wasn't just the the tear, or fatigue, or weather that gave the flight trouble: It was getting a slot at JFK. More...

NEXT TECH -- IONIC THRUSTERS?
Researchers at MIT have been experimenting with ionic thrusters and say their results show the technology may potentially provide a "far more efficient source of propulsion than conventional jet engines." In a news release posted in April, the university said Steven Barrett, an assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics, and his research team have published a paper about their experiments, in which they found that "ionic wind" produces 110 newtons of thrust per kilowatt, compared with a jet engine's 2 newtons per kilowatt. "Ionic wind" is the colloquial term to describe the phenomenon known as electrohydrodynamic thrust, or a wind which is produced when a current passes between two electrodes -- one thinner than the other. If enough voltage is applied, the resulting wind can produce a thrust without the help of motors or fuel, according to MIT. More...

THE TIME IS HERE FOR AIRVENTURE PLANNING
Now that July has arrived, AirVenture is just a few weeks away, and EAA is promising a full agenda for the seven-day event. Terrafugia is bringing the latest prototype of its Transition flying car to Oshkosh for its first public airshow flight. The aircraft is scheduled to fly just before the night airshow on Wednesday, July 31, at 8 p.m. The 20-minute demo will feature conversion from driving to flying and back again, a flight demonstration, and a driving pass in front of the crowd. Another first at the show will be demo flights by "Jetman" Yves Rossy, with his unique jet-powered flying wing. Also new this year, the show will host an expanded Education & Interactive Zone with a College Park where companies and colleges can network with young people, and an expanded menu of WomenVenture events. More...

VIDEO: SAFE FLIGHT'S ANGLE OF ATTACK INDICATORS
Safe Flight Instrument Corporation is in the process of achieving FAA certification for their new angle of attack and speed control system for Part 23 aircraft. Aviation Consumer's Larry Anglisano flew with the system in Safe Flight's Beech Baron. This video features a tour and wring-out of the new system. More...

BRAINTEASERS QUIZ #185: KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Displaying sloppy stick-and-rudder skills or ignoring NOTAMs and FSDO inspectors lurking in the shadows can lead to unpleasant surprises. Paranoia aside, the savvy pilot thinks ahead, knows the rules, and doesn't break a sweat acing this quiz. (Includes a new reader survey.)

Take the quiz. More...

AVWEB'S NEWSTIPS ADDRESS ...
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 255,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips via email to newstips@avweb.com. What have you heard? More...

SHORT FINAL

During the '80s, while with Mugu Approach, a controller asked an aircraft "to state position."

Pilot came back: "Fiscally conservative. Socially, somewhat liberal. Two miles west of Point Dume."

Greg Andrews
via e-mail

HEARD ANYTHING FUNNY ON THE RADIO?
Heard anything funny, unusual, or downright shocking on the radio lately? If you've been flying any length of time, you're sure to have eavesdropped on a few memorable exchanges. The ones that gave you a chuckle may do the same for your fellow AVweb readers. Share your radio funny with us, and, if we use it in a future "Short Final," we'll send you a sharp-looking AVweb hat to sport around your local airport. No joke. Click here to submit your original, true, and previously unpublished story. More...

MEET THE AVWEBFLASH TEAM

AVwebFlash is a twice-weekly summary of the latest news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the world's premier independent aviation news resource.

The AVwebFlash team is:

Publisher
Tom Bliss

Editorial Director, Aviation Publications
Paul Bertorelli

Editor-in-Chief
Russ Niles

Webmaster
Scott Simmons

Contributing Editors
Mary Grady
Glenn Pew

Contributors
Kevin Lane-Cummings

Ad Coordinator
Karen Lund

Avionics Editor
Larry Anglisano

Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? Your advertising can reach over 225,000 loyal AVwebFlash, AVwebBiz, and AVweb home page readers every week. Over 80% of our readers are active pilots and aircraft owners. That's why our advertisers grow with us, year after year. For ad rates and scheduling, click here or contact Tom Bliss, via e-mail or via telephone [(480) 525-7481].

Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)

Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.

If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your phone or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebFlash. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.

Aviate. Navigate. Communicate.