# Asiana 214 flight crew talking on ATC tape. Anyone know what he's saying? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840 "2013-07-07T02:16:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/1 "2013-07-07T02:16:10Z")
I’ve been listening to the [radio traffic](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQSSJqLi-kE)\* between the SFO tower and various flight crews just before, during, and after the Asiana Flight 214 crash-landing at SFO today. (SFO approach controllers and fire/rescue personnel are also on the recordings). One of the Asiana flight crew (at least it seems to be) talks to the SFO tower starting around 1:03 of the clip. I think he also talks later on in the recording, too. I can’t tell what he is saying, and I’m hoping someone here can figure it out and post it. - YouTube— length 7:53 ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/2 "2013-07-07T02:40:43Z")
I can’t make out what the Asiana pilot is saying, but that tower controller sure did a good job diverting everyone on final approach in the midst of a plane crash. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/3 "2013-07-07T02:52:59Z")
The Asiana pilot also appears to speak at 1:52 and 2:09 on the recording I linked to. BTW–the recording in it’s entirety is interesting. In the background of a communication between a controller and an unrelated aircraft you can hear exclamations in the tower and a person saying something like, “What happened?!?” You also hear the controllers telling other flights to “maintain” or to “go around” and statements that the runway is closed followed shortly by, “The airport is closed”. Later, there are exchanges between the tower and rescue personnel with the tower saying, “Cross all runways as requested”, and also pilots of United #885 on the adjacent taxiway relating what they see, “We can see two or three people that are moving, and apparently survived”. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/4 "2013-07-07T04:10:01Z")
No idea what he’s saying, the accent is a bit strong and it doesn’t consist of any recognisable standard phrases (not surprisingly.) ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/5 "2013-07-07T05:14:49Z")
Well thanks for trying anyway! I wonder if the NTSC final report will transcribe that part as mostly unintelligible or if they will nail it down with acoustical enhancement and the help of native Korean speakers (for the accent—I think he’s speaking English). ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/6 "2013-07-07T05:52:59Z")
In context, My best guess Is " fire burning on 2-1-4" except after rewinding a couple times I can’t figure out wher the 2 and 1 1are, I can hear(while doing my best to try to find something to hear) " I got fire burning…4…" ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/7 "2013-07-07T05:56:53Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Well thanks for trying anyway! I wonder if the NTSC final report will transcribe that part as mostly unintelligible or if they will nail it down with acoustical enhancement and the help of native Korean speakers (for the accent—I think he’s speaking English). They’ll also have the CVR recordings which will be much clearer. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/8 "2013-07-07T06:12:23Z")
They will also have live pilots, that always helps. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/9 "2013-07-07T06:45:31Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > They will also have live pilots, that always helps. Not always. Sometimes pilots are more trouble than they’re worth when it comes to accident investigations. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/10 "2013-07-07T07:02:01Z")
I know there have been cases where the pilots adamantly deny the findings, but I would think that they could be useful interpreting a radio or cockpit comment. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/11 "2013-07-07T08:04:52Z")
On second listen I think the first call is just “Tower, Asiana 214”, to which the tower responds that emergency services are on the way. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/12 "2013-07-07T11:13:23Z")
I think almost the entire recording (if not the WHOLE thing) was made AFTER the plane crashed - even the parts where the pilots of 214 are talking. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/13 "2013-07-07T13:05:35Z")
> [@lawoot](#): > > I think almost the entire recording (if not the WHOLE thing) was made AFTER the plane crashed - even the parts where the pilots of 214 are talking. Yes, the start of the recording is Asiana 214 getting clearance to land but shortly after that it crashes and everything else is after the accident. Edit: I was thinking of another recording. This one doesn’t have the clearance to land. At 35 seconds is about when the crash happens, you can hear controllers in the background responding and the tone changes from that point on. Everything after that is post crash, including all of the Asiana calls. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2013, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/14 "2013-07-07T14:35:28Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > They’ll also have the CVR recordings which will be much clearer. The cockpit voice recordings will be very useful to investigators. The public will eventually get a transcript; but AIUI, the actual voice recordings are not released to the public (in the U.S.). ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/asiana-214-flight-crew-talking-on-atc-tape-anyone-know-what-hes-saying/662840/15 "2013-07-11T04:41:48Z")
What it sounds like to me: 0:35 (background) What happened? (accident just happened?) 0:42 (tower) Everybody stand by 1:03 (214) Tower tower as (or Asiana)214 1:07 (tower) Asiana 214 heavy emergency vehicles are responding 1:12 (214) AS (or Asiana) 214 1:14 (tower) Asiana 214 heavy emergency vehicles are responding 1:16 (214) OK now…( I can’t make out the rest.)