

"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.

The two accidents share a striking similarity—both occurred just about the time the planes were touching down to landing.



Bill Waldock, an expert on aviation accident investigation, said he was reminded of the 2008 Heathrow accident as he watched video of Saturday's crash in San Francisco.


Waldock cautioned: "Of course, there is no indication directly that's what happened here. That's what the investigation is going to have to find out."

While the two accidents appear to have occurred about the point in landing, "you can't rule out anything thing at this point," Haueter said.

"I think it's someone who got slow and low on the approach, quite frankly, but we won't know anything until we see the flight data recorder," he said.

Haueter said was doubtful the Asiana accident will be linked to the same icing problem as that caused the British Airways accident since changes were made after that crash to prevent further incidents.

"Most accidents happen during takeoff and landing anyway," he said.

Safety improvements to planes in recent years—better fire-proofing of passenger cabins and reinforcements to fuel systems—may have prevented the San Francisco accident from becoming much worse, Waldock said.

Commonly referred to as the "Triple Seven," the 777 is a long-range jet designed primarily for extended flights over water. The plane that crashed in San Francisco was coming from Seoul, South Korea.


