be the focus of this investigation. guarantee you. that's what ntsb is going to want to know. >> thank you, steven stock, standing by for us here. >> itch yf you are joining us, e holiday weekend. not many on television, you heard through word of mouth or social media we want to summarize what we know. summary. essential things we have learned about the crash at sfo. >> boeing 777 crash landed at 11:27. calling it a hard landing. show you video from minutes after the crash. the plane which was operated by asiana, airlines, took off from shanghai, seoul korea, to sfo, 10 1/2 hour flight. 60 people remain unaccounted for. doesn't mean 60 people are dead. at this point. don't know where they are. some may have been moved off to hospital. there may be some manifest name issues. sochl tra some translation issues. at this point.

60 unaccounted for. we have twoñnfirmed dead. 130 taken to different hospitals. 190 people though initially walked off that plane. and of that group, then, some were later transported. and taken to the hospital. with less serious injuries. sfo was shut down for four hours after the crash. but now, at least two run ways at this point are open. we'll continue off to bring the latest developments as we learn more about what happened. ntsb is on its way here. threesent out to secure the scene. police told us the scene at the airport in terms of this airliner have been secured. >> ntsb traveling from washington, d.c. sending a "go team" and son tight on site to investigate. the airplane, on the tarmac, and they will reconstruct the plane, piece by piece. for the last several hours, this happened at 11:27. for the past several hours,

cheryl herd has been reporting from sfo and talked about officials giving us the briefings and passengers what's the latest at this hour, cheryl? >> reporter: weave have be have standing by, live, 1:00. looking over my shoulder. traffic picked up. when i arrived pretty much a ghost town. some flights are landing. things some what getting back to normal. i've shouldn't say back to normal. there is increased traffic here at sfo. a news conference is scheduled to take place any minute now. we have a camera down there. when that happens we will bring tight you. in the meantime. let's take a look at the videotape we have been looking at. the aircraft. made a crash land hearing today at 11:26. the tail of the plane breaking off from the rest of the plane. that boeing 777. the emergency chutes deploying on the videotape. you can see the foam, that is being sprayed on that plane.

to make sure that there is no fire. but there was a lot of smoke. according to -- eyewitnesses there. 190 people were able to get out of the plane. as you can imagine. people were here, waiting for loved ones. we caught up with the friend of a passenger. you will hear from a spokesperson from the fbi let's listen in. i understand that we don't have -- that videotape cued up. why can tell you what he said. he is from sunnyvale. he is here to peck up hick up h friend. he was able to speak with him. his luggage. who knows what will happen with that? he said they will have to go some where and make sure he has something stew weto wear. he said he was fine. he was waiting for him to come out. the fbi and the ntsb on their way. the san francisco fire

department -- pushed over all of their information to the fbi the fbi the lead agency on this one, working with the san francisco police department. i hear that we do have the videotape. let's roll it and hear what they have to say. >> i need to drive him to wal-mart and buy him stuff and send him to a hotel. >> at this point in time, there is no indication of terrorism involved. the fbi will be working closely with the ntsb on this investigation to, to determine the cause of the incident. we currently have all of our resources available to assist in this investigation. and we will do all that we can to find out what occurred. >> that's the first thing that we usually think of when you think of an airplane, explosion, crash land like we had here.

was there any terrorism involved? and you heard from the fbi, they say that they don't think that terrorism had anything to do with this. i f e eyewitnesses are telling us they heard a huge thud when the plane went down. they didn't see any flames. they just saw a lot of smoke. a picture perfect day. here at sfo. usually here it could be a picture perfect day, other parts of the bay area. and could be windy. there is actually no wind here. so, people will be speculating as far as what happened. at this point we have no idea. again, we are waiting for the 5:30 news conference. we have a camera down below. we will bring you the most updated information as the we get it. reporting live from sfo, cheryl herd, nbc bay area news. >> thank you, cheryl. you heard the fbi spokesperson there saying they right now the lead agency in making sure the scene is secure until the ntsb arrives. deborah hirschman from ntsb,

chairwoman, saying they will try to reconstruct, look at mechanical, pie llot. and weather conditions at that point. over the last couple of days we have seen different things. let's bring anthony slaughter in. today very windy. didn't seem the same. and ape very clear day especially there at sfo? >> yeah, wind were not gusting. you heard cheryl say that earlier. show you've the wind map. wind at san francisco international. really for the past three hours, 5 to 15 miles per hour. wind were not a huge factor. you start to think of other things. conditions on the bay. visibility. no fog. no low cloud. 11:27 this morning. again the winds calm out of the southwest. 5 to 15. if you study meteorology, you go higher in the atmosphere, wind increase. the plane was coming down. could have caught on fast gusts. really indications here, all indications from the weather maps, wind were 5 to 15 miles an

hour. maybe higher. gust up to 20. but no indications that we were seeing weather play a factor. as the investigation continues to unfold, in the next hours and days ahead. i think it will be clear that weather was not anner t eissue. and the investigative team. weather not a huge factor here on this saturday. back to you. >> this from asiana airlines, they released, nationalities, in terms of passport holders of passengers. 77 korean nationals. 141, chinese nationals. remember, ridge naoriginated in shanghai. 61, americans. 1 japanese national. and we want to check back in, and monty francis has been there for the last several hours. all sorts of witnesses there sought plane crash down at 11:27 this morning. excuse me. going to get back to monty. not there right now. heard from asiana airlines, what

we are doingen ter ein terms of nationalities. >> their manifest, not who is sitting where. where they're from. the international flit. you will have departure points. turn things over to monty fran sichl cis. -- francis. the vantage point. saw the plane coming down and saw something unfold likely you see unfold in a movie. >> jessica, absolutely right. >> reporter: we are here at a park, a popular spot for people who lack to come watch the planes and take off and land at sfo. tonight you can see people are here for a different reason. to see the wreckage of this crash. dozens of aftermath of the crash. here's what some had to say. >> i heard two booms. i thought it was maybe fireworks somebody was shooting or something. then i just looked out of the window and saw this plane on the ground. and i saw it before -- before

the fire started to consume everything. i saw the chutes come out. >> couple gentlemen walking. did you see what happened to the plane? yeah, looked like coming in for a landing. the tail hilt. cart wheeled. spun. came to a stop right there. that was it. we saw the smoke coming up. >> i heard a boom. paused. turned around. looked out the window. that's when i saw it tumbling. >> the last man you heard from, brian piper, was standing here at a hotel nearby. he took dramatic video of the crash he posted on youtube. in fact many people here have shared photos. videos with us what they saw. they saw people coming off the plane before the large amount of smoke and fire consumed the plane. apparently a bit of time people had to escape before the smoke and fire consumed the plane. back here live, we know the ntsb

is en route here to investigate the crash. also, at about 4:15. two opposite run ways here at sfo. reopened. since then, just about 30 second ago. we saw another plane take off here at sfo. we're live, monte francis, nbc bay area news. >> you can see that behind monte all the people passing by there. even on a there mall day. where monte is, a spark, trail that attract tourists. people who live in the area who want the vantage point of sfo. that's why there were so many eyewitnesses this morning at 11:27. the white house has been briefed. briefed every 15 minutes for the past several hours. president obama knows what is happening here with this asiana airlines crash. he and the first family spending the weekend at camp david. the white house releasing this statement, an hour ago. we told you partially. we want to give it to you in its entirety --

we continue the statement from the white house -- >> this is a very unusual circumstance. it makes news because it is so big and so unusual. but these kind of crashes don't happen very often. in fact the last fatal airline crash in the u.s., continental express flight, back in 2009. that flight crashed into a house near buffalo, new york. that was on february 12, 2009. that crash killed all 49 people on board. the one man who was inside the house. on november 12th, 2001, american airlines flight 587 crashed into a queens neighborhood in new york city. when the airbus's a-300 vertical tailfin snapped after takeoff. in that flight, all 251 passengers and nine crew members were killed as the well as five on the ground.

and alaska airlines flight 261 crashed january 31, 2000. into the pacific ocean off point mcgoo. the md-83 had probl lems with i horizontal stabilizer. all were killed on that flight. in most of the cases we are looking at fatal plane crashes when most of the crew died, when the flights were a, a, either in the air like not most, and full of fuel. in this case, we were lucky they didn't have that much fuel on. working on reap serserves. >> steven. we want to got to our news conference and sfo what we saw this morning and the investigation half pppening. let any listen in. >> i want to thank you all for coming. it certainly has been a challenging, difficult day at sfo today. i want to start by reconfirming some of the facts. then provide updated information on passenger numbers for you.

this morning at 11:27 a.m. we had an incident involving asiana flight 214, flight originated in shanghai, continued through seoul, and on its way to san francisco. a boeing 777 aircraft. and manifest count, the number of individuals on board the aircraft, 291 passengers, 16 crew for a total of 307 on board the aircraft. as i mentioned we have updated information on the status of the passengers, crew. for that i will turn it over to assistant deputy chief dale carnes, dale. >> good evening. of the 307 souls on board, we had 181 total that were transported to local hospitals. of that 181, 49 were serious. and were in the initial victims

transport from the scene. an additional 132 were transported later on into the incident after being triaged as they were the more minor to moderate casualties. we have also accounted for 123 people here in the terminals of the airport. they were uninjured and have remained in place. and at this time we do have, two confirmed doa passengers on the aircraft. >> so those numbers add up to 306. we are still working to confirm the last one. as, dale mentioned. we have got 123 individuals uninjured. still on site at the airport being processed as we speak. i will turn it over to fbi special agent in charge, dave johnson. dave. >> thank you. at this time we continue to work with the ntsb on determining the exact cause of the incident. there is currently and continues to be no indication that terrorism or any criminal acts contributed to the incident. we are offering all resources necessary to help with the, eve

vent. we continue to keep the flights' passengers crew and their loved ones in our thoughts. thank you. >> i just want to finish by -- talking a little bit about the status of the airport as a whole. as i mentioned in the last briefing. we have a total of four runways at sfo. we have reopened two of the four runways. we are operating, limited arrivals and departures at sfo currently. we would recommend for any passengers traveling through sfo off to check with the air lane for the status of the flight before coming to the airport today. thank you for coming. our next briefing will be held at 7:30 tonight in the same location. >> that was the third briefing since this plane crash happened at sfo this morning. and perhaps -- in fact, definitively, the most encouraging briefing we have heard. about 90 minutes ago we were told 60 people were unaccounted for. as the you just heard the spokesperson for sfo say, only

one person now is unaccounted for. and they seem pretty positive that, they were just a matter of time to track these people down. >> yes, numbers have changed dramatically in the way they were saying. 49 people were seriously initially taken to the hospital. 132 people later transported. triaged at the airport. injuries were not as serious. then taken. this was the number that was stunning. 123 people, not injured, just sitting at the airport being processed. 123 people. who did not need to have medical care. that were being processed at the airport. sadly though, two people dead. one person as you say, one person unaccounted for. numbers add up to 306. initially we have been told there were 291 passengers aboard the flight. 16 crew members for a total of 307 people. at this point the numbers add up to 306. so it is just a matter of time before they figure out where --

where this -- this problem is that they dent haton't have thi person. police and fire told us they don't think there is any one on the fuselage of the plane at all. right now a numbers game. very, as you said, raj, extremely encouraging to know just from an hour ago that the numbers have been able to, to be cohesive, more cohesive than they were 90 minutes ago. >> we have been on the air, five hours uninterrupted now. almost like a sigh of relief. the newsroom and everyone following this, sigh of relief. a short while ago, 60 unaccounted for. now one unaccounted for. a positive development out from sfo. steven stock, you have been with us throughout the whole ordeal here. what now when they arrive here? ntsb, the "go team" we have been talking about. will they work through the night? where isn't the staging area where they reconstruct the aircraft? >> i can tell you first they will again start working the area right where the plane sits.

you see it live off the runway. in fact, i saw them moving in lights. along the runway and taxiway just for that. i can assure you, ntsb will work throughout the night. they have already begun. we saw earlier this afternoon. picking up pieces of evidence. we saw a long line of 50 officials walking around the fuselage and on -- on various parts of the runway 28-l,28 r. finding a crscrew, nut, bolt, t pick up, to use to deter mmine happened. the voice data, what the speed was, airspeed was. height was, what its altitude was. how it was coming in. any maneuvers or controls the pilot put on the plane in the

last few second. we spoke to one of the survivors of the crash on the plane. he was talking about how he was in the back of the mreplane. saw the water coming up way too fast. felt the bump. everything started going wrong. we hear some of the witnesses talk about cart wheeling. we want to beep cle clear what means, according to evidence. when we think cart wheel we think end over end. i do not believe there is any evidence that shows that. i think what they're talking about is spinning around look a top. certainly once the back tail came off, the plane spun around. in fact you can see it is facing the wrong direction. it was landing down runway, 28 a. it is facing up. >> when we are talking about the go team. how many people on a go team? what about manpower? >> two and three people. they're specialists. this is what they do. it is amazing. i have watched them put planes become together. i watch them put the space shuttle back together.

it is amazing. how many meticulous and how good they are about piecing together all of this evidence. that we would think you could never find. and they put it together. >> what's the timetable for preliminary, i know they initially come out with what, they say is preliminary investigation. what they thin make hak may hav happened and then an initial report? >> typically they announce a preliminary conclusion what may have happened. 30 to 45 days. truth is between you and me, my sources tell me in incidents like this where there is lot of data and evidence sitting on the ground they're probably going to know within 48 hours. they may not tell us. but they're going to know with pretty good certainty what happened. talk to the pilots who survived. that its another thing. they will talk to the pilots. even if they're south korean or chinese. they will talk about what happened. they've will talk to benjamin levy and all those others and put together a pretty solid time

line. and then as far as an official announcement. it is almost always about a year out. we went know officially what the final conclusion is for probably a year. because the truth is there is also legal ramifications. there is civil lawsuits. the airlines are going to, want to cross every t and dot every i. so those kind of things come in to, unfortunately, in this day and age, to any kind of investigation like this. and so the -- they will be meticulous and bep ve very care. these guys are experts. if i am a betting man. i am not. they will land. go out there and know within 12 hours. >> what are the international legalities. this is a carrier from outside the united states. >> the fact is that it does business in america. subject to the faa, ntsb, american jurisprudence, american laws, international flilt aght does business in america.

that would preclude any laws in south korea or china. the fact of the matter is there is the issue of language. there is the issue of that it is based in seoul, south korea. but because we have international treaty -- the ntsb will have jurisdiction and will be able to enforce, the faa would, mete out any punishments or fines they would have to pay or they would no longer have the right to fly in and out of america. >> i guess my question is how much involvement will their version of the faa in, in korea have in this? >> fantastic question. asi asiana, airlines will cooperate with ntsb. government official will take the lead and handle this exclusively. in fact i will fell you, and gals, are so good that even international incidents. i know there was one in saudi arabia, i believe there was one in brazil. they call in american authorities though it is an

international flilght. they will call in ntsb essentially re-enactor that will piece this together. because the expertise. some of the finest in the world. they, they certainly are going to defer off to the united states in this case. off awe steve, talking about the investigation. we heard from the ntsb they will be bringing in boeing, the south korean government, where asiana is. low come authorities and national investigation as well. asiana airlines one of two main your airways from south korea. korea air the other. asiana the second. they will be working closely with them. asiana airlines reap lealeased manifest. 291 passengers. 16 crew members. 77 cokorean nationals. 141 chinese. 61 achl cans. one japanese national.

>> asiana said right away they will cooperate with u.s. officials. >> boeing issued a statement it extend concern for those on board. and boeing is prepared to provide technical assistance to the ntsb it investigates the accident. boeing will beal a participant. and ntsb. critical information on the making of the plane, engineering, jult lay the outla plane, and how the pieces go to gets. >> we talked so much in the last several hours. benjamin levy. he joined us earlier. and not only spoke with us, sf general. treated for broken ribs. on the flight. i am in imagining, his account of what happened was so distinct and clear. said it with certainty he would be a valuable source. he told us as the plane was

crashing down, touching down. it landed once. it bounced back up in the air. and came down again. this is his account from what he said. he said then the smoke was coming in a little into the fuselage. when we went to go for the emergency chute to go down it was not working. he was on row 32 at an exit rope. he helped other people get off the flight. jumping down about five feet. get a good vantage point here. see the shot at sfo of the flight. near the rear of the plane, benjamin was jumping off and helping others get off. benjamin talked with us at length. 20, 30 minutes about his harrowing ordeal on flight. let's listen in to part of the interview. [ indiscern bible ] >> bit surreal. people not believing what was happening. i wasn't believing. and then the door was not too close. and then opened the door. we didn't have a slide. the slide was gone. piece of the wing was gone.

there was a lot of debris there. we were on the ground. started ushering people out. and trying to calm down as well. people were pushing each other out. and so, you know -- the hostess was trying to help as well. but there was a lot of commotion going on. obviously. >> amazing huh. >> you hear the panic, people, instinct, people trying to get off. one of the questions they will be looking into, why didn't the chute open. one of the issues too. the chutes are supposed to be where you go in an emergency. >> one more thing about benjamin. he said. so thankful. obviously. not to be -- to be seriously injured. he said before the flight. he was watching a korean movie "love 911" a movie about an air crash. >> oh, gosh. >> he said he had a premonition. started reaching out to his family. two kids and a wife. and it happened. so heap just said he was so thankful. a aas he was hurt.

one thing that stuck out. i feel so bad for others injured. he said, head injuries. hand injuries and other children being hurt. he is a father of two here in the bay area. it was -- to just recount it. with him, through his eyes was tremendous. and very valuable for ntsb. >> and very much. and turn things over to marianne favro at san jose international airport. people have to be counting their blessings. at first initially not knowing why, they were diverted, but to land there safely and hear the magnitude of a crash like this. people have to be walking off the flights saying, just being thankful it wasn't their flight? >> absolutely. jessica. there were a lot of expressions of gratitude today. and people did not seem too bothered by the inconvenience of landing here at san jose. happy that they landed here safely. 25 flights were diverted from sfo here to san jose.

24 have now landed here. and the final flight that was diverted is expected to land from puerta vallerta here tonight at 7:45. most flights were domestic. rosemary barnes says though there were more flights coming in the diversions did not cause any delays. extra staff was called in off to help. we talked with several passengers surprise to learn they were landing in san jose. >> we were supposed to land at san francisco international airport. the pilot was circling and circling. finally he told us, we can't land here. they're not allowing us to land. they're not telling us why. >> we were not told anything. going to san jose. >> our flight was canceled. many other flights were canceled. now we are here in san jose. trying to find another flight. >> most of the diverted passengers boarded shuttle buses headed for hotels in san francisco. one group of of students, boarded a bus headed for stanford university.

i talked with one woman who was trying to find a ride back home to -- l.a. she tried with three different airlines, and all had canceled their flights to los angeles. she was trying to make a very important birthday celebration. she said what mattered most is that she was safe. reporting live. marianne favro, bay area news. >> thank you. a nightmare ending of a flit from seoul to sfo. >> i heard a boom. paused a second. turned and looked out the window. that's when i saw it tumbling. >> "it" is a plane. tonight, two people are dead. and dozens of others have been injured. good evening, i'm jessica aguirre. we have been covering the story all morning long. >> i'm raj mathai, continue to follow out of sfo. horrific images if you are

watching or tuning in. a boeing a live look now. the chopper has been in the air for so many hours reporting alongside with us. this investigation is very active even at this hour. this afternoon, perhaps this is the most encouraging news. just a short while ago we heard that 60 people were still unaccounted for. in a news conference moments ago, we learned it has dropped to just one person unaccounted for. >> perhaps this may be one of the most chilling photos we've come out of today. you can see the smoke and the flames right there. along the waterside. this is what people saw. more than 190 people were able to get off the plane by themselves. lots of images coming in. we have video from a man named brian piper who said he shot