down the emergency inflatable slides to safety. it's not immediately known how much how many people were on board or nature or extent of injuries. we have no word on fatalities. federal aviation administration is saying this was a flight 214, all they are saying it crashed while landing on runway 28 left at 11:26 pacific time this morning. we've showing you a video clip on youtube and shows smoke billowing from the jet and this still photograph which appears to depict people having left the plane before the fire ensued. captain nash, that is excellent news, but the fire happened after some people -- we don't know how many -- got out of the plane? >> yeah, and that is one of the things -- think your

viewers should take away from this. all those times where you sit in the emergency aisle seating you got your earplugs in and listening to music or whatever. take the time to look at the instructions in there so when the flight attendant comes around, are you ready to do this, you are really ready to do this. you never know what is going to happen. most dangerous part of the trip for these people who are in this crash believe it or not statisticly was the car ride to the airport. commercially aviation is so safe that -- it's so many decimal places it's so rare in occurrence, if it happens you got to be ready. >> gregg: last crash continental flight that crashed into a house near buffalo.

that i february of 200to 9. that killing 49 people on board and one man in the house. that was the last major airline crash in the united states. again, that was back in 2009. it's amazing when you look at the wreckage of this plane, captain nash, that anybody survived. it may be the case that everybody survived? >> we're looking at the aftermath. john scott made an excellent point. that is when that thing happens, these aircraft are tested before the faa will certify them and release them for flight. that design, that aircraft is tested where they load that thing up with full capacity, blow the whistle and at that point, everybody has to get out and i'm not familiar with the exact timing. i think it might be 90

seconds. when you think about pulling up to the gate in an airliner and if you are sitting in back, how long it takes to get out. when the balloon goes up and all those doors pop open, it's amazing how quickly you can evacuate that aircraft. >> heather: i have a question for you. i received a couple emails from viewers because we've been talking about the tail of this plane coming off. that is reminded several of our viewers about american airlines that came out j.f.k. that lost the tail and it landed in in the bay. that was flight 587, it crashed to the ground and killed all 265 people on board that flight. apparently the resulted of the pilot overreacting at takeoff because of some turbulence as a result of another airbus 300 jet.

that caused the tail along with the rudder in the rear to break off completely and the plane to crash. that was on takeoff. can something similar happen at landing? >> it could, but this is completely different product. the airbus, because of the way airbus and boeing configure their control systems, completely different. a boeing is a lot more pilot sensitive. it's pilot to controls. the airbus is pilot to computer to controls. so what happens is, you wind up -- not that the boeing -- it's through the computer but the pilot has far mor control and feel for the aircraft than in an airbus. what happened was, when they took off and came out of j.f.k., there was a

significant rudder input. that rudder input caused tremendous stress on the tail, the vertical stabilizer but the tail that is sticking up. it causes stress on that which induced a yaw and the tail broke off and at that point the aircraft wasn't controllable. this, you are not accelerating you are decelerating and you are slower to land. when they pull the black boxes, will tell air speed, engine settings, whether the engines were spoolg up or down. what the rate of descent was and take that and put that in simulator and sit there in that simulator and ride through the final moments of approach. >> heather: two different aircraft that we're talking about and two different situations. one taking off and one

landing. >> yes. >> heather: and one other question about the fire itself that broke out after the plane landed. you can see it did appear to break out on one side of the plane above the wing section area. that would be where some of the fuel was stored. >> right. >> heather: according to jon scott. perhaps that is why these passengers were able to evacuate and hopefully all of them safely according to the initial reports that we've received. >> well, i'll tell you, what usual looking at right there, looks absolutely horrible, that is after the people got out and the fire burned and that is what is left of it. notice that the wings are pretty much intact. so what you should have saw there is, an airplane that just slammed into the ground, created a fire, yet

the fuel tanks on the wings are self sealing and built to take impact. it's not like the old days, lockheed constellation comes in and carrying gasoline which is very volatile, jet fuel is not as volatile as gasoline by far. the safety improvements and fuel tank and all of the design work that goes on into the product like that to get you a certification, that gets you to the kind of product that we fly in commercial aviation every day and you can have confidence when you get on those airplanes, that "a" the industry is very standardized across the board. are there exceptions? yes, but for the most part it's the safety mode of transportation out there despite what you are looking at on the screen

right here. >> gregg: 291 people on that aircraft when it crash landed at 11:26 a.m. this time this morning. we don't know of injuries or fatalities. we did have a guest that spoke to an aviation official who said everybody got out safely. we haven't been able to confirm that. we november information. asiana airlines that opened this triple 7 modem 200 plane not really picking up the phone. they haven't issued a statement. boeing has. they say our thoughts with everyone affected by today's incident at sfo. we stand ready to assist the n.t.s.b.. we've received word that in fact n.t.s.b. is on its way. they will be conducting a thorough investigation. >> heather: you see the shot there. the plane the front area of the plane there in front of the plane, opposite of the

emergency khuitd. that would appear to be -- emergency chute and that ureport video you could see the plane initially seemed to begin in that area in front 69 plane. >> gregg: joining us on the television, steven wallace former director of accident investigations for the faa. thank you for taking the time. it appears where the water meets the jetty there is debris in the water and we can put a picture of the jetty it sustained damage. there it is. i don't know if you are tuned to fox news. there you see the debris field that begins in the water. you see damage to the part of the jettie and very edge where planes are not supposed to touch you see

the debris field and it extends all the way down the runway. what does that tell you? >> and previous caller that was quite knowledgeable, avoiding speculating but i will point out this airplane has absolute state of the art, voice and data recorders and investigators will have access to precise data. you can see here there is debris as the prior witnessed said. those yellow chevrons those are displaced they are hold. you don't land -- thresholds and it's clear that he struck the seawall before getting to the displaced threshold. >> gregg: why would that have happened? >> as a prior expert said, you come down a glide path. you are on a specific angle

that is measured electronically and normally you have lights out there a combination of red and white lights to tell you are on the glide path. you have an whether established air speeds and sync right say 300 to 400 feet per minute. clearly this got too low on the glide path and too high a sync rate which it was unable to arrest before it struck that wall. again, the investigators who are on their way, faa will be involved and n.t.s.b. will lead the investigation. boeing will participate. the airline will be invited to participate. they will bring all the best experts in. i assure you n.t.s.b. will hold press briefings every day at least once.

with any accident like this there is a tremendous sort of feeding frenzy. >> gregg: let me back up. debris field literally begins where the plane is not supposed to touch down. these are very sophisticated aircraft. this is boeing triple 7 model 200. aren't there on board computer alert systems that warn a pilot, you are coming in too low? >> there are, but this very last, it could be flying airplane visually. if you are electronic glide path and you go below it a voice, glide slope -- there are all kind of equipment like that. this is the last visual phase. it's hard to explain how it happened. it's most unusual. this the is an airplane that is flying for 18 years with an absolutely superb

safety record. what i would point out, it's important to note, that airplane is burned out. if you think of the before the accident happened in 2005 to ronto where 300 people were able to evacuate successfully -- we hope everyone got out of this one as well -- many rules were put in place in the '80s to improve the chances for passengers to get out of an airplane in exactly this situation. in is survivable impact with a fuel fire. those engines are very hot. fuel tanks can rupture and fuel can spill out. it's almost inevitable in an accident of this severity. there sapphire. so rules were put in place to make the interior materials more flame resistance to block the

seat cushions and with improvements. we've seen some marvelous survivable accidents, airbus 340 that crashed in toronto in 2005. let's hope this is another one that everyone survived. >> gregg: thanks very much more your insights. >> heather: we are getting information from family members, people on board the flight. this is our affiliate, kpix, let's listen in. >> there is no data whatsoever. there is no nothing on the screens. so all i got is text messages from a couple of may family. everybody is all right. >> my son was 19. >> he was in korea for ten

days. >> how do you feel emotionally? >> i'm extremely thankful that he is all right, from what i can tell all the passengers are all right. flight crew i don't know anything about them either. i heard there could be some problems there. father of a 19-year-old. >> gregg: the latest word we are getting is that 291 passengers on board this asiana jetliner that everybody got out. we have not been able to confirm that. we're not getting a statement from the faa on that or from the airlines. this boeing 777 model 200 with 291 passengers on board. the debris field suggests that it landed short of the

runway coming in too low. of course, n.t.s.b. will be investigating there on their way. >> heather: at this point, this happened around 11:00 d 11:20, 11:30 and it shows a huge plumes of thick black smoke billowing from the scene. we have at least one person joining us earlier who said he had spoken with unnamed sources within the faa saying everyone was able to get off of this flight safely. we certainly hope that is case. we have another report coming in from ktvu, from the redwood city fire department saying that passengers were being treated to, some burn victims at the scene. this is the youtube video that we've shown that came in shortly after the flight crashed. a lot of eyewitness

accounts coming in. thankfully, gregg, a lot of those from passengers who were on board this flight. >> it's truly remarkable, these early reports seem to have gotten out. let's go to claudia who is standing by live in san francisco with more details. >> reporter: i'm stand inside the international terminal here in san francisco. you can see the asiana ticket counter is vertically deserted a lot of people were here earlier. they were ushered away from united airlines personnel. this is small airline so another airline would step in to help and get everyone to a private room and posted. we are affecting first account there has been serious casualties and unfortunately two fatalities. this is from our fox affiliate in oakland, ktvu,

qeag quoting a fire source from the redwood city and saying 48 people had to be treated for serious injuries. throughout this entire ordeal so far, we have not heard any kind of casualties. many thought it would be miracle if people, no one was hurt in this terrible disaster that happened here. now, we are getting reports, 48 injured, possibly now we're hearing two dead. i can tell you that a number of people are here in the international terminal. it's an eerie calm as people try to figure out what they are going to do about their travel plans. a number of flights that were headed to san francisco are being diverted because this airport is still closed. no word on when it will reopen. the san jose getting 31 flights alone and other flights being diverted as far away as los angeles. while families of the passengers who were on this plane are trying to determine where their loved ones are exactly, how they

are doing and when they can see them. so a bit of chaotic situation, gregg, as we await a press conference that is due to begin at any moment. we'll keep you posted. >> gregg: this is the first word we are receiving of any injuries or fatalities. claudia, two fatalities, 48 treated for serious injuries. do you know the nature of the injuries or burns or physical injuries beyond just burns? >> reporter: we were told burn and smoke type injuries. as we have been told a lot of people made it off the plane with a few more scratches. this was terrible accident with the plane flipping upside-down and the fire. yes, those 48 injuries were told were fire and smoke related. again, more details to come on all of this including the number and extent of

the injuries and those casualties. >> gregg: claudia, at san francisco international airport, we'll be talking with you again in just a few minutes. >> heather: san francisco international has a series of runways that almost form -- we flow this was the 28 "l" was the runway involved specifically on this flight. we're going rick folbaum who is joining us with more on that series of runway and what form. >> gregg:. >> the airport has a series of runways that form like cross going northeast to southwest and then northwest to southeast and the northern most and easternmost runways jet into the san francisco bay. the according to reports we were getting. this flight was in process of landing on runway 28 "l".

that would have been the easternmost runway. some of the debris actually wound up in the san francisco bay. so you see how close this plane was to actually being able to land safely. we don't know the reason why they had the problems they did, but again, a large airport right there on the water as we three to get you a sense of the geography of the situation. we'll continue to gather information and scenario and bring it to you as soon as we get it. >> gregg: thank you very much. as you fly in and out of san francisco, especially if you fly in arriving there, you are hovering over the bay for very, very long period of time. i've flown in 50, 60 times, i used to live there. you come in generally from the south up through the bay which extends a long

way as we zoom in on a map. the bay extends for miles and miles south. you come in hovering over the water, you get lower and lower and it seems as though you are touching the water as you approach the jet at this here. -- jetty, it would appear that the plane struck struck literally the rock part of the jetty coming too low and too short. it will be up to the n.t.s.b. that is on the way to the scene to investigate. obviously they not only have the physical debris field, but they'll be interviewing not just the pilots but the passengers and crew. then, of course, you've got air traffic control as well as flight cockpit recorder and all of that will be expected. the debris field would seem to tell the story. >> heather: this was asiana

flight 214 coming from south korea. at this point the latest reports, two dead, 48 injured after this boeing 777 crash landed at san francisco international airport. the cause of the crash still officially unknown at this point, but as we've looked at the pictures we know that the tail of the plane split in pieces and fire damaging the cabin area where all the passengers were seated. it would appear if you look at the wings of the plane, you can see one engine on one side of the plane, you cannot see the other. that is what i've been talking about the past hour or so. as we zoom in there, you see one engine there in front of the wing and other where the emergency chute

has been deployed. it doesn't appear that there is an engine on that side of the plane unless it is perhaps under the wing there. it also would appear that the fire itself begin on the side of the plane opposite of the emergency chute. therefore, allowing some passengers to exit safely. two dead in this plane crash, 48 injured. this coming from san francisco international airport. >> gregg: we are approaching the top of the hour. numbers have changed over the last two hours as we've been covering this breaking news story at the international airport there. we are best estimate is 291 people on board, reuters says 292 and including crew

of 16 members, including the flight attendants as well as the pilots. our numbers from claudia, two fatalities, 48 treated for serious injuries which would be smoke inhalation and burns we don't know about other injuries in this is a plane at 11:26 a.m. was on approach to san francisco international airport, runway 28 "l" and appears to have struck the jetty upon which the tarmac sits. there is debris not only in the water but along the part of jetty as well as the surface of the tarmac. the plane came to rest off the runway into a dirt area people were deployed and

people -- slides deployed and people were able to get off quickly and with 291 people aboard that is amazing. the top part of the airplane is literally burned off. obviously, fire crews were there very quickly. the fire retardant was to put out the flames and ensure there were no further sparks or explosions. >> heather: it would be remarkable that only two people died in this crash. what we are seeing now, a thick black smoke rising from the scene. as gregg said, emergency crews responded very quickly that no doubt assisted in the number of people to exit. 291 people on board this flight that came from south korea. >> gregg: there is the beginning of the debris field right there at the very edge of the runway.

we're going to continue to follow the events and give you more information, a horrific crash at san francisco international airport. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪ chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for boat insurance. geico, see how much you could save. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews.

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>>. >> gregg: we begin a brand-new hour with fox news alert out of san francisco. word that at least two people have died, dozens more injured after an asiana a triple 7 commercial flight crashed while landing. i'm rick folbaum. >> i'm arthel nevil. there were more than 290 passengers on board along with 16 crew members. the san francisco fire department reports at least 61 people were injured. it's right on the san francisco bay. pieces of debris were spotted in the water and a long the runway