Pilots of Asiana Airlines relied on automatic equipment

AP photo

The pilots aboard the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 that crashed in San Francisco relied on automatic equipment - an autothrottle system - to maintain airspeed and did not realize the plane was flying too slowly until it was just 200 feet (60 meters) above the ground, the head of the US National Transportation Safety Board said on Tuesday, reports China Daily.

The pilot told investigators he realized the autothrottle, similar to a cruise control, was not engaged just seconds before they hit. Their last second efforts to rev the plane back up and abort the landing failed, although numerous survivors report hearing the engines roar just before impact, says Bend Bulletin.

A final determination on the crash’s cause is months away, according to Gulfnews.