We must analyze and compare data from the flight data recorder..."
Sejong (ANTARA News/Yonhap) - An initial investigation into the crash-landing of Asian Flight 214 in San Francisco is nearing an apparent end, though it will take several more months to find out what exactly caused the accident that killed two passengers while injuring some 180 others, a government official said Friday.

All the debris from Saturday`s crash-landing of the Asiana flight from South Korea`s Incheon International Airport has been cleaned up with the fuselage of the crashed jet also set to be removed from the airfield later in the day, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The Boeing 777 plane, carrying 291 passengers and 16 crew members, crashed when its tale hit a seawall at the end of the runway at San Francisco International Airport.

Two Chinese schoolgirls were killed with 181 others injured in the accident. As of Friday (local time), 22 still remained in the hospital for treatment, the ministry said in a press release.

Choi Jeong-ho, the head of the ministry`s aviation policy bureau, earlier noted a possible failure of the plane`s automatic throttle control, noting a joint investigation by South Korea and the U.S. has confirmed that the switch for the auto throttle was still in the armed position.

Deborah Hersman, the head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), on Thursday (U.S. time) claimed the pilots were ultimately responsible, noting NTSB investigators have found no evidence of mechanical problems in the crashed jet.

An official from South Korea`s transportation ministry said the government was still trying to find out what Hersman was trying to say, but that it was too soon to conclude the auto throttle worked perfectly.

"We must analyze and compare data from the flight data recorder and other recording devices to find out whether the auto throttle worked properly," the official told reporters.

The ministry said the joint investigators met with two of the plane`s four pilots in San Francisco for additional questioning.

The ministry has said the ongoing investigation into the accident will take at least one year.
(T.A045/H-AK)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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