Quantcast
Channel: NBC Connecticut
Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live

Community Pays Tribute to New London Drowning Victim

0
0

Hundreds gathered to remember six-year-old Anthony Bernoudy who drowned at Green Harbor Beach on the 4th of July.

Family and friends gathered to light candles and pray in his honor Friday night.

"I lost my mom but I can't tell you how it feels to lose your son," said Telisa Atkins who shared a moment with Anthony's mom Tamara.

Telisa works in the cafeteria at his school. "It really hurt me because any time anybody mess with him at school, he'd run up to me. He'd hug me. He'd say TT. They bothering me," she said.

The New London community surrounded the family in prayer. Mother Tamara and Anthony's grandmother and great grand mother laid balloons in his memory, adding to the growing memorial. Nearly 200 came for the boy who went missing Thursday evening after 5:00 p.m.

Anthony was found hours later by emergency divers at Green Harbor Beach. Many thanked all the first responders and divers for their efforts as well.

"I kind of liked him being here. We had lots of fun," said 6 year old Jontay General who knew Anthony since they were 2.

He competed against Bernoudy in the last little league game he'd play, just hours before he went missing. "Kind of sad…but I was kind of excited when I came because I wanted to give him this as a rest in peace."  Jontay left a mitt and ball with Anthony's name on it.

"He was a beautiful little boy and I've seen him grow from the beginning of the year til the end of the year," said Cathy Iozzia, his kindergarten teacher. "And I just want to say he'll always have a special place in the heart."

"I'm going to miss him. I love him. And I'm pretty sure all the kids are going to miss him," Atkins added.

Many mourners like Telisa Atkins are still wondering why there was no lifeguard on duty.

City officials tell us Green Harbor Beach will be open Saturday, though mourners want something to be done to ensure the safety of all their children.
 


School Didn't Reveal Teacher-Teen Inquiry: Police

0
0

A school district investigation into a relationship between a Redlands teacher and a student with whom she’s now accused of having a sexual relationship – and a baby – did not result in a report to police or child protective services, according to court documents filed Friday.

In May, the Redlands Unified School District questioned Laura Elizabeth Whitehurst – a Citrus Valley High School teacher who was arrested Monday on suspicion of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor – as well as her alleged victim.

Whitehurst was at the time more than seven months pregnant, and police on Monday said the father was a teen student with whom she had an ongoing sexual relationship.

An affidavit submitted Wednesday to a San Bernardino County judge by Redlands police Detective Dominick Povero describes Whitehurst’s alleged relationship with the teen, as well the school district’s investigation into the pair on May 16 and May 17.

Povero was seeking a search warrant for school records related to the investigation, and San Bernardino Superior Court Judge Richard Peel on Wednesday granted him access to personnel files for Whitehurst, as well as her work emails and any relevant property on the Citrus Valley High campus. The document was filed in public court records Friday.

“Evidence from email communication and personnel files may show teachers, school administrators, and district administrators failed to report suspected child abuse as mandated,” Povero wrote.

Whitehurst, 28, pictured in her booking photo below, was released from police custody Monday night on $25,000 bail. Police said she had given birth on June 18.

On Wednesday, police said investigators had learned of two other alleged victims since Whitehurst’s arrest was made public.

One alleged victim was a freshman at the time of a sexual relationship in 2007 and 2008, which occurred at the same time as a similar relationship with a boy, now 23, who spoke to NBC4 about his experience with Whitehurst.

"There wasn't a thought of, 'I'm going to get in trouble' or 'Should I say something?'" Michael Cooper told NBC4 of a relationship he described during his junior year at Redands High School, where Whitehurst was his English teacher. "It's more of like, 'Holy cow, this hot teacher is into me.'"

The affidavit from Povero provides details of the police investigation into Whitehurst and the teen -- and into the school district questioning of the pair that took place more than six weeks before the teacher's arrest.

The court filing states that Redlands Unified Assistant Superintendent Sabine Robertson-Phillips had spoken to Whitehurst about her relationship to the  victim, described as “John Doe.” Citrus Valley High Principal Bernard Cavanagh spoke to “John Doe,” according to Povero.

But it was not until the alleged victim’s mother contact school district officials – after Whitehurst gave birth – that educators got in touch with police, the affidavit states. That happened on Monday, when detectives went to speak with the ”John Doe,” who was 16 when the alleged relationship began and is 17 now.

The teen told detectives he had had an “ongoing” relationship with Whitehurst since July 2012, the document states.

“John Doe and Whitehurst met at a school sponsored trip to Disneyland, where they began communicating,” the affidavit states.

Their sexual relationship included “numerous instances of sexual intercourse and sexual oral copulation” that continued weekly after Whitehurst became pregnant last September, according to the document.

Whitehurst told the teen he was her only recent partner and therefore the father of the child, Povero wrote. The teen attended the birth, according to the document.

In his presence, Povero had the teen call Whitehurst, who on the phone confirmed their relationship and that the teen was the baby’s father, the detective wrote.

When Poverothen  spoke to Whitehurst in person, she confirmed the above details of the relationship, the detective wrote.

Officials with the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office told NBC4 they expect charges against Whitehurst to be filed July 8.

School district officials on Tuesday issued a statement that said the district was cooperating with the investigation.

"The District was recently made aware of allegations involving a high school student and teacher. We immediately notified the police and placed the employee on leave,” the statement read.

"Because we do not want to jeopardize the ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further at this time," the school district statement continued. "We appreciate the quick response to our complaint by the Redlands Police Department. Our heart goes out to the victim and his family."

Three Men Shot in Norwalk Drive-By

0
0

Three men were injured in a drive-by shooting in Norwalk around 9:45 p.m. Thursday, police said.

According to a witness, the men were walking on Keith Street toward Taylor Avenue when a car drove by and one of its passengers shot at them, according to police.

The men were struck in the leg and were transported to Norwalk Hospital. Police said their injuries did not appear to be life threatening, and that two of the three have already been released.

Police said the victims have not been cooperating with investigators.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Norwalk police at 203-853-3181.



Photo Credit: Shutterstock

Stolen Jewelry, Laptop Found During Traffic Stop

0
0

Plainfield police arrested two men early Friday morning after smelling marijuana and finding a large amount of stolen items in the car they were driving.

Driver Joshua A. Thuotte, 22, and passenger Charles C. Lonchiadis, 21, were traveling down Putnam Road in the Wauregan section of Plainfield around 1:49 a.m. Friday when police pulled them over.

Officers smelled marijuana coming from inside the car, and, after investigating, arrested Lonchiadis for possession of synthetic marijuana, possession of marijuana less than four ounces and possession of drug paraphernalia.

While searching the car, police also discovered a large amount of stolen jewelry and a laptop. They determined that the items had been stolen from homes in Thompson, Conn., and arrested Thuotte on related charges.

Lonchiadis was released on a $500 non-surety bond and is due in court July 15. At this time, there is no further information concerning Luotte's arrest.

Police are investigating.

SoFla Woman Receives Envelope With White Powder

0
0

Miramar Police said they are investigating after a woman received an envelope containing white powder.

A Sunrise Hazmat team responded to 3051 SW 163rd Ave. in Miramar’s Silver Isles neighborhood Friday evening, authorities said.

A piece of mail delivered to the home was addressed to a doctor who lives there. His wife, who is also in the medical field, opened it and found a powdery, creamy substance inside, postal inspector Ivan Ramirez said.

Man Charged With Planting Hoax Bomb at MIA

It turned out that nothing inside was hazardous, but the woman was scared and had a bit of a panic attack, according to Ramirez.

"Mailing, even if it's a hoax device, is a crime. It is a federal crime, it does carry some stiff penalties," he said. "You don't have to actually be successful in causing any real particular damage or harm to anyone."

WATCH: Bomb Squad Detonates Suspicious Bag

The addresses on the letter were typed, he said.

More Local Stories:

 



Photo Credit: NBC 6 South Florida

Suspect Pulls Out Machete During Robbery

0
0

Manchester Police are investigating after a man robbed a gas station using a machete as a weapon.

Police arrived at the Mobil Gas station on Hartford Road after employees called to report a robbery.

While talking with witnesses, police learned that the suspect, whom they believe to be a white male, entered the gas station, pulled out a machete and demanded money.

The man was able to grab an unknown amount of money from the register before he took off running.

Police are reviewing surveillance images and brought in K9 units.

The robbery is still under investigation.

 



Photo Credit: Manchester Police

Thawing Permafrost Could Speed Global Warming

0
0

Six to eight times a month, a Sherpa airplane with special instruments takes off from Fairbanks, Alaska, in search of data to answer the question: Is global warming causing changes to the environment that inevitably accelerate the climate change?

That is the suspicion of Charles Miller, principal investigator for a research project that is focusing on greenhouse gas emissions in the skies above the Arctic tundra, the vast treeless region that produces only grasses and low brush during the brief growing season.

"Climate change is already happening in the Arctic, faster than its ecosystems can adapt. Looking at the Arctic is like looking at the canary in the coal mine for the entire Earth system," said Miller, who is based at Pasadena’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, but who now spends much of the year in Alaska.

The carbon compounds implicated in global warming are often associated with combustion, and that is a significant source. But Miller said the amount of carbon compounds such as methane and carbon dioxide that are trapped in the permafrost beneath the tundra is staggering -- comparable to all of the greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago.

During the summer thaw, the very top of the permafrost melts -- a few inches to no more than a few feet -- releasing only a small amount of the carbon that has built up over eons from the annual die-back of vegetation. It decomposes slowly in the tundra environment and historically is recaptured during the winter freeze.

Enter global warming.

“As temperatures warm, it’s thought that these organic materials could decompose more rapidly and give rise to gases such as carbon dioxide and methane," Miller said. “The anticipated release of carbon should accelerate climate change...I think the experts all agree that that’s the case. The question that we’re grappling with is how much carbon might be vulnerable to release, and how fast might it be released."

One possible scenario is what scientists call a “positive feedback loop,” akin to what’s known in the more common vernacular as a vicious circle that feeds on itself.

“The warmer it gets the more of this carbon gets released from the thawing permafrost. And it then itself contributes to the warming. So you get this positive buildup -- more and more warming.”

Determining whether that is actually happening is the mission for CARVE -- Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment, a five-year study now in its third summer.

Ask Miller now if any trends are apparent, and he demurs, wanting to wait for more data. But he does say the airborne surveillance periodically encounter large “plumes of methane,” as much as 150 kilometers (90 miles) across.

There are nuances, as well.

It turns out not all carbon compounds are created equal when it comes to effect on the atmospheric greenhouse. Methane, for example, has a much greater impact than carbon dioxide, as much as 100 times greater over a 20-year period, according to Miller.

What’s more, the climate itself can influence the type of carbon compounds thawing permafrost is more likely to release. Warm and dry is more favorable for carbon dioxide. Warm and wetter would be expected to produce more methane, and it would not take much of a shift to have a significant impact, Miller said.

“Iif the amount of methane to carbon dioxide shifts just a little bit in favor of methane, just one or two percent, then without increasing the amount of carbon that’s released from the soil tremendously you can actually double or even triple the amount of ‘radiative forcing’ and greenhouse gas warming," Miller said. "That’s why we’re really interested in -- whether the arctic is becoming warmer and drier or warmer and wetter.”

With the data CARVE is generating, Miller hopes climate scientists would be able to produce moreaccurate mathematical models for predicting the effects of climate change.
 



Photo Credit: NASA

Mom Who Left Baby in Hot Car Charged with Neglect

0
0

A Virginia mother who left her 8-month-old baby boy in a hot car for about 6 hours has been charged with felony child neglect, according to police.

Arlington County police arrested Zoraida Magali Conde Hernandez, 32, of Alexandria, on Saturday. She is currently being held on no bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Police said Hernandez drove to work on Friday, forgetting she had left the infant boy in the car. When she left work later that day, she saw her baby in the car and immediately drove to INOVA Alexandria Hospital.

The baby was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police recommend parents of young children are extra careful during hot summer months.

"Slow down and be careful... try not to let things get too busy," Lt. Mark Bergin with the Alexandria Police Department said.

Also on Friday, a 16-month-old girl died after being left in a car for about four hours in Baltimore.

According to KidsAndCars.org, approximately 38 children die from being trapped inside hot cars every year.
 



Photo Credit: Zoraida Magali Conde Hernandez, 32, of Alexandria

2 Killed, 182 Injured in SFO Plane Crash

0
0

Two people were killed and 182 were hospitalized after Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Seoul, South Korea, crashed and burst into flames at San Francisco International Airport, forcing passengers to jump down the emergency inflatable slides to safety.

The Boeing 777 with 307 people on board crashed as it was landing on Runway 28 Left at SFO at 11:27 a.m. PDT.

Officials confirmed two people who were found outside the wreckage died in the crash. The San Mateo County coroner said both victims were female, one an adult, the other 16 years old. Both were traveling on Chinese passports. Autopsies will be performed Sunday on both victims.

SFO officials said 182 people were transported to area hospitals, 49 of those with critical injuries. Initially, 60 people were considered unaccounted for, but San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee confirmed at a 7:45 p.m. press conference that every one on board the plane had been accounted for.

"This could have been much worse," Lee said. "We are very lucky that we have so many survivors, but there are many who are critically injured. Our thoughts and prayers go out to them."

Federal investigators said it was too early to determine a cause. A representative of the National Transportation Safety Board arrived on scene late Saturday and took control of the investigation.

The sources who spoke with NBC News said the pilot did not make a distress call before landing. The plane crashed in favorable weather — partly cloudy skies and light wind.

SFO officials said a total of 307 people were on board, 291 passengers and 16 crew members. Asiana Airlines reports the passengers included 77 Koreans, 141 "of Chinese descent," 61 U.S. citizens, three from India, one Japanese, one from Vietnam, and seven of unknown origin.

"It was a bit surreal," said Flight 214 passenger Benjamin Levy, "a lot of people screaming, not believing what was happening. I couldn’t believe it either."

Helicopter video of the scene showed a large plane with severe burn damage to its midsection. The tail section was detached. Runway No. 28 was strewn with debris. The line of debris stretched to the bay.

An eyewitness on the ground described what she saw: “I was sitting on the 4th floor of at my room at the Marriot, overlooks the runway, saw the plane tumbling, nose was down, tail in the air, flipped over and landed, couldn’t tell if it was upside down or right side up.”

A firewoman was onboard the plane before all the passengers were evacuated, Levy said.

At least two passengers came out of the water -- although the plane was not in the water -- when firefighters arrived on the scene. It is possible they sought out the water to deal with flames or burns.

Nine Bay Area hospitals attended to victims of the crash.

San Francisco General Hospital received 52 patients from the crash, a hospital spokeswoman said. The hospital received four waves of patients, including an initial wave of  10 critical patients, hospital spokeswoman Rachel Kagan said. Of those initial 10, two were children.

Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital treated 45 patients. Sixteen of those were admitted. Three of those were in critical condition and 10 were in serious condition as of a 7:45 p.m. update.

Flights in and out of SFO were suspended for about four hours. Two of the airport's four runways were reopened by 3:30 p.m., allowing limited service, according to SFO. Airport spokesman Doug Yakel said the airport's other two runways will not reopen until NTSB investigators give approval.

Arriving flights were being diverted to Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento and Los Angeles. Extra staff and shuttle buses were on hand at Mineta San Jose International Airport to handle the 27 planes that were rerouted there from SFO.

The flight, which originated from Shanghai, China, left Seoul's Incheon International Airport 10 hours and 23 minutes before its crash landing, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air traffic control. The website reports a total of 242 flights originating at SFO and 186 scheduled to land at SFO were canceled.

NBC Bay Area spoke with passenger Levy shortly after the crash: “We were approaching perfectly well, but we were too low, when the pilot realized it, he put some more gas to correct it, but it was too late, so we hit the runway pretty bad, and we started going up in the air again, and we landed pretty hard.” NBC Bay Area's full interview with Levy is posted below.

Federal sources told NBC News that there was no indication of terrorism. President Barack Obama has been made aware of the situation, according to White House officials.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Federal Aviation Administrator Michael P. Huerta released a joint statement in response to the crash: "The Department of Transportation and the FAA are working closely to assist the NTSB with its investigation. Our thanks go to today's first responders and our thoughts and prayers go out to the passengers and crew of Asiana Flight 214 and their families." 

National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived on the scene in San Francisco late Saturday night, according to NTSB's Twitter feed.

“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by today’s incident at SFO,” Boeing said on its Twitter account. “We stand ready to assist the NTSB.”

"The 777 has a fantastic record," said Tom Haueter, who retired last year from the National Transportation Safety Board, where he was the head of aviation accident investigations.

In a statement, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said, "Our city is immeasurably grateful for the swift response of the flight crew who quickly evacuated passengers; for the air traffic controllers who effectively diverted traffic; for the brave first responders and the hospital staff who are ensuring the swift recovery of the injured.  Their actions are a testament to the strength, courage, and selflessness that defines the Bay Area."

"We are grateful for the courage and swift response of the first responders whose actions surely prevented an even greater tragedy," said California Governor Jerry Brown in his own statement.

Last year, SFO saw 317,000 takeoffs and landings of commercial airplanes, all without a fatality. There had not been a fatal accident at SFO in the past 75 years, until Saturday, NBC Bay Area's Stephen Stock reported.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg was supposed to be on the flight, but chose United instead.

She posted the following on Facebook:

Taking a minute to be thankful and explain what happened. My family, colleagues Debbie Frost, Charlton Gholson and Kelly Hoffman and I were originally going to take the Asiana flight that just crash-landed. We switched to United so we could use miles for my family's tickets. Our flight was scheduled to come in at the same time, but we were early and landed about 20 minutes before the crash.

Our friend Dave David Eun was on the Asiana flight and he is fine.

Thank you to everyone who is reaching out - and sorry if we worried anyone.

Serious moment to give thanks.

 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

RAW VIDEO: Plane Crash at SFO

0
0

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at SFO. Raw video from our chopper of the aftermath of the crash.

RAW VIDEO: Eyewitness Description of Plane Crash

0
0

Eyewitness Brian Piper describes what he saw when an Asiana Airlines plane crash landed at SFO.

U.S. Commercial Airline Crashes 2001-2013

0
0

The Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crash while landing at San Francisco International Airport Saturday is the fifth crash involving commercial aircraft in the United States since the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

Here's a look at the four other commercial airline crashes since then:

February 12, 2009: Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashed into a house as it approached an airport in Buffalo, New York, leaving all 50 aboard dead. Federal investigators said one of the main causes of the regional carrier's crash was pilot error.

January 15, 2009: Roughly three minutes after takeoff, US Airways Flight 1549 hit a flock of Canada geese and was left with no power in both engines. With no chance to land at any nearby airfields, Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger glided the plane into the the Hudson River. All 155 passengers were unhurt.

January 8, 2003: Air Midwest Flight 5481, operating as a US Airways express flight, crashed into a US Airways hangar after leaving Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, 37 seconds after takeoff. All 21 aboard perished and one person on the ground was injured.

November 12, 2001: American Airlines Flight 587 was traveling from Queens to the Dominican Republic and crashed into the Queens neighborhood of Belle Harbor, killing all 260 on board and five people on the ground. The plane got caught in turbulent air after taking off right behind a Japan Airlines Boeing 747-aircraft on the same runway. In the first officer's attempt to stabilize the aircraft, the vertical stabilizer snapped off, causing the plane to spiral out of control.



Photo Credit: AP

Audio Transmission From Flight 214

0
0

Audio transmission between air traffic control and pilot of Asiana Airlines Flight 214.

Animation of SFO Crash

0
0

Animation of the plane crash of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 at SFO.

New York Yankees to host Newtown Day

0
0

There will be some special guests in attendance today at Yankee Stadium.

The Bronx Bombers have invited approximately 4,000 Newtown residents to their afternoon game today against the Orioles.

The guests will also receive a food and beverage voucher.

 

In a pregame ceremony, a list of Sandy Hook victims' names will be recognized on the centerfield video board.
 
The national anthem will be sung by the Newtown Youth Voices, and the Sandy Hook Fire Department and Newtown Police Department will provide a Joint Color Guard.
 
Pat Llodra, First Selectman, Town of Newtown, will be in attendance.
 
"The Yankees organization has supported our community in several ways since the tragic events of December 14," said Llodra. "They have contributed financially through the Yankees Foundation, they honored our first responders on Opening Day, and on Sunday they will put smiles on the faces of 4,000 fans from Newtown. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts."
 
 

 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

SF Crash Survivor Describes Normal Flight That Fast Went Wrong

0
0

Nothing seemed amiss aboard Asiana Airlines Flight 214 from Seoul, South Korea, as it approached San Francisco International Airport just before noon Saturday: the plane was on time, the sky was clear, and everyone, including the crew, was getting ready to land.

Benjamin Levy, a businessman seated in the Boeing 777 jetliner's 32nd row, watched through the window. A world traveler, he'd flown into the airport many times. He knew what to expect. So, as the plan approached a runway along the San Francisco Bay, he saw right away that it was too low. It didn't look like the plane was going to make the runway.

The pilot must have seen the same thing, because the plane suddenly lurched upward with a sudden jolt of power, Levy said.

"When he realized that, he put more gas to try to correct the plane again and it was too late," Levy recalled in a phone interview with NBC Bay Area. "So we hit the runway pretty bad and then we starting going back up in the air again. And then we landed again pretty hard."

Levy added: “It felt like the guy missed the runway quite completely. He tried to correct, which probably helped. We would have hit the rocks.”

Now the plane was on the ground, but panic was just starting to set in.

"It was surreal," Levy said. "A lot of people screaming and not really believing what was happening to them. I wasn’t believing it either."

Many of the 291 passengers were hurt, but Levy wasn't in too bad of shape. He looked out the window again. A piece of a wing was gone. There was debris all over the place. He got up, helped to open an emergency exit and started ushering people through the opening.

"People were pushing each other out," Levy said. "The hostess was trying to help as well. There was a lot of commotion going on."

Firefighters were climbing aboard. Smoke was starting to appear. Soon the plane would catch fire.

Someone told Levy to get out of there. So he did, making it into one of the first ambulances to San Francisco General Hospital. He was pretty lucky: some cuts and bruises and maybe a broken rib.

"I am (in pain), but not too bad compared to other people," Levy said.

Officials confirmed two people were found dead outside the wreckage, female Chinese teenagers who were seated at the back of the plane. 182 people were taken to one of nine Bay Area hospitals, including 49 with serious injuries including burns and fractures. 

The NTSB arrived on the scene Saturday to lead the investigation into the crash.

Levy said he felt terrible for the people injured worse than he was. But "it could have been a lot, lot worse," he said.

 



Photo Credit: Levy Family

Fire Truck May Have Run Over Asiana Plane Crash Victim

0
0

The San Mateo County Coroner's Office is conducting an autopsy to see whether a fire truck ran over one of the teenagers who died in Saturday's Asiana Flight 214 crash at San Francisco International Airport.

San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said one of the bodies was found on the tarmac near where the plane's tail broke off when it slammed into the runway. The other was found about 30 feet away from where the jetliner came to rest after it skidded down the runway.

Foucrault tells NBC Bay Area they were alerted by the San Francisco Fire Department "that a fire truck may have played a role in the death of one of the girls," and are trying to determine if the teen died as a result of the plane accident or a "secondary incident."

The autopsies were expected to be completed by Monday night and would determine if the injuries came from the crash or from the fire truck.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday also said it is investigating whether one of the two teenage girls killed in the crash might have been unknowingly hit by a fire vehicle at the scene.

The NTSB is conducting a "very thorough investigation" into whether one of those vehicles might have struck a victim at the crash site, fire department spokeswoman Mindy Talmadge said.

The department is not allowed to discuss or speculate on specifics, she said.

The two victims who died have been identified Ye Mengtuan and Wang Linjia, both 16 and students at Jiangshan Middle School in eastern China.

In addition to the two deaths, Saturday's crash at the San Francisco International Airport wounded 180. Of the wounded, 49 are suffering from critical injuries, SFO officials said.

The plane's cockpit voice recorder showed the pilot attempted to abort its landing just 1.5 seconds before it crashed.

Passengers described chaos in the aftermath of the accident, with many of the 291 onboard escaping by sliding down emergency inflatable slides. A few exited through the back of the plane in an opening that was caused when the tail section tore off.

In the immediate minutes after the crash, police officers threw utility knives up to crew members so they could cut away passengers' seat belts.

Some passengers doused themselves with water from the bay, possibly to cool burn injuries, authorities said.

By the time the flames were out, much of the top of the fuselage had burned away. Inside - the tail section was gone, with pieces of it scattered across the beginning of the runway. One engine was gone, and the other was no longer on the wing.

Benjamin Levy, a businessman seated in the Boeing 777 jetliner's 32nd row, told NBC Bay Area the plane seemed to had been coming in too low for landing at San Francisco, and the pilot "missed the runway quite completely."

Bay City News contributed to this report.

Woman Arrested for Falsely Reporting Suffield Home Invasion

0
0

A Suffield woman is facing charges for falsely reporting a home invasion and brutal assault.

Kelly Wilson, of Thrall Avenue, was arrested Wednesday after a nearly three month investigation by Suffield Police.

On April 13th, police forced their way into Wilson’s home shortly after midnight when she reported a man armed with a handgun broke in through a back door, beat and sexually assaulted her.

According to her story, the masked man knocked twice on her door earlier in the evening asking for help with his broken down car. Wilson gave police a detailed description of the alleged intruder.

According to police, Wilson was alone at the time. Property records show she and her fiancé purchased the house just weeks prior to the incident. At the time, police said her fiancé was away on military leave.

For days, police asked town residents to remain vigilant and report anyone suspicious matching the description of the alleged intruder. Check points were set up in the area of the Thrall Avenue address with police asking drivers if they noticed a broken down car or a man matching the description given around the time of the alleged incident.

Suffield Police Chief Michael Manzi says it was shortly after that investigators found discrepancies in the 29-year old’s story.

“The investigation soon turned from finding a suspect to determining whether the story was fabricated,” Manzi says.

Manzi says an FBI profiler from Quantico,Virginia was brought in to aide in the investigation.

He says Wilson gave a written statement on May 22nd admitting she contrived the whole story.

Manzi says she admitted to causing the injuries to herself and trashing her home to make it look like an intruder. As for the reason, Manzi would only say it was “emotional in nature”.

Soon after the written confession, Suffield police turned the case over to the Office of the States’ Attorney.

Manzi says an arrest warrant was signed and issued on July 2nd. Wilson was arrested the following day.

She is charged with falsely reporting an incident, making false statements and  misuse of the emergency 9-1-1 system. All charges are misdemeanors. Wilson posted $50,000 bond and is scheduled to appear at Enfield Superior Court on July 16th.
 

NTSB Chief: Plane Tried to Abort Landing Before SF Crash

0
0

The pilot in control of the Boeing 777 that crashed at the San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, killing two people and wounding 180, had little experience flying that type of plane and was landing one for the first time at that airport, according to the Associated Press.
 
Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said that Lee Gang-guk was trying to get used to the 777 during Saturday's crash landing, the Associated Press reports. She says the pilot had nearly 10,000 hours flying other planes but had only 43 hours on the 777.
 
Meanwhile, Asiana Airlines Flight 214's cockpit voice recorder showed the plane attempted to abort its landing just 1.5 seconds before it crashed.
 
There was no distress call given before the crash, but the recorder indicated that there was a "stick shaker activation" four seconds before the crash, indicating the plane was about to stall, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said in a Sunday news conference.
 
Seven seconds before the crash, there was a call by one of the crew members to increase speed. The target speed for an approach is 137 knots, and the speed of Flight 214 was "much lower, and not by a few knots," Hersman said.
 
Earlier in the day SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said the navigational technology that helps pilots to land in inclement weather was not operational when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashed, NBC News reported. The plane crashed in favorable weather, partly cloudy skies and light wind, NTSB officials who spoke with NBC News said.
 
“This was a visual approach. You do not need instruments to get into the airport,” said Hersman at Sunday's briefing. “They were cleared for a visual approach.”
 
In spite of the new information, Hersman said that the NTSB's investigation had only completed its preliminary reports. The cause of the crash, Herman said is still unknown.
 
"Everything is on the table," she said. "It's too early to rule anything out."
 

The two people killed when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 slammed into the runway at SFO Saturday morning have been identified as 16-year-old schoolgirls from eastern China.

182 people were transported to area hospitals, 49 with critical injuries, after Flight 214 crashed and burst into flames upon landing, SFO officials said.

Six people remained in critical condition Sunday at San Francisco General Hospital, one of nine Bay Area hospitals attending to victims of the crash. Of the 53 patients treated at the hospital, 19 remained hospitalized Sunday.

At least two patients are paralyzed, said SF General's Chief of Surgery, Dr. Mary Margaret Knudson. Other patients are said to be suffering from abdominal injuries, spine fractures and road rash.

"We are used to all these types of injuries," Knudson said. "We just don't usually see them all at once."

Another 55 patients were treated at Stanford Hospital. Two patients were still listed in critical condition there on Sunday, with another nine considered to be in either fair or good condition.

Helicopter video of the scene showed the plane with severe burn damage to the top of its fuselage. The jumbo jet's tail section was detached and a line of debris stretched to the bay.

Passengers described chaos in the aftermath of the accident, with many of the 291 onboard escaping by sliding down emergency inflatable slides.

"It was surreal," Benjamin Levy, a businessman seated in the Boeing 777 jetliner's 32nd row, told NBC Bay Area. "A lot of people screaming and not really believing what has happening to them. I wasn’t believing it either."

Levy said it seemed the plane had been coming in too low for landing at San Francisco, and the pilot "missed the runway quite completely."

"He tried to correct, which probably helped," he said. "We would have hit the rocks.”

San Francisco Mayor Edwin M. Lee said the work of emergency officials stopped the situation from becoming much worse.

"A number of miracles occurred that saved many lives," Lee said at the Sunday afternoon press conference.

Asiana Airlines President Yoon Young-doo identified the two fatalities Sunday as female teenagers from China, saying they had been sitting at the back of the plane. The South Korean airline's official Weibo microblog later said both girls, Ye Mengtuan and Wang Linjia, were 16-year-old students at Jiangshan Middle School.

Speaking at a news conference in Seoul, Young-doo said that he did not believe the flight suffered an engine defect. He described the four pilots aboard the plane at the time of the crash as "skilled," the AP reported. Three of the pilots had each logged more than 10,000 hours of flight time, he said.

Still, Young-doo bowed and said that he was "extending my deep apology" to passengers, their families and South Koreans.

A group of Chinese passengers aboard Flight 214 was headed to a summer school program in the Los Angeles area.

Thirty-five students, of which two died in the fiery crash, were scheduled to arrive at West Valley Christian School in West Hills for three weeks, according to the school’s website.

The students were going to be hosted by families in the San Fernando Valley.

“We are unsure what their next steps will be," the website said, "but we are certain that God knows and will help us care for them in this time of crisis."

The two students killed were identified Sunday as Ye Mengtuan and Wang Linjia, both 16 and students at Jiangshan Middle School in eastern China.

Federal investigators said Saturday it was too early to determine why the plane crashed into SFO's Runway 28.

SFO officials said a total of 307 people were on board Flight 214: 291 passengers and 16 crew members. Asiana Airlines said the passengers included 77 Koreans, 141 "of Chinese descent," 61 U.S. citizens, three from India, one Japanese, one from Vietnam, and seven of unknown origin.

Flights in and out of SFO were suspended for about four hours after the crash, the first fatal accident at the airport in 75 years.

Saturday's crash was also the second major accident involving a Boeing 777 in the 18 years the model has been in service, according to the AP. That earlier accident occurred Jan. 17, 2008, when British Airways Flight 28 from China landed about 1,000 feet short of the runway at London's Heathrow Airport. The impact broke the jet's landing gear and caused 47 injuries.

 



Photo Credit: Getty Images

Danbury Hospital Cleaning Up After Plumbing Problem

0
0

Danbury Hospital is cleaning up after a plumbing problem over the weekend.

A plumbing issue on Sunday led to some water damage, according to hospital officials, and parts of the emergency department and some administrative offices were affected.

Hospital officials said the hospital is still able to treat patients in the emergency department, but Mayor Mark Boughton said it is going to be quite a cleanup.

 

Viewing all 57608 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images