FilAm recalls 'hiyawan, iyakan' as Asiana plane crashed in San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO — At least five Filipino-Americans were among the survivors of Asiana Airlines Flight 214 that crash-landed at San Francisco International Airport on July 6.

 

Two Chinese teenagers were killed and 182 others injured.

 

The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C. said it received reports that aside from Colorado Fil-Am Maricel Anino Knaus and her two sons, a San Francisco couple who came from a family reunion in Batangas, Philippines was also among the passengers hurt in the crash.

 

All five are American citizens and were rushed to hospitals after the crash for injuries, said First Secretary and Consul Elmer Cato.

 

Attending physicians, particularly at San Francisco General Hospital, where the victims were brought, said common to the victims were fractures, burns, road rash, and internal bleeding.

 

The Philippine Embassy said Knaus and her sons were discharged from the hospital.

 

They are residents of Fort Collins, Colorado.

 

Maricel is a native of Cebu province.

 

The couple from Batangas, on the other hand, were identified as Ruben Vallero, 75, and Belen Vallero, 73, who are now residents of San Francisco.

 

An ABS-CBN report said the Valleros, who came from a three-week vacation in the Philippines, also sustained injuries in the liver.

 

The couple shared with ABS-CBN video footage of the burning flame taken from their iPad.

 

“Hiyawan, sigawan, iyakan yung ang maririnig mo,” Ruben said.

 

“Akala ko namatay na kaming dalawa,” Belen said.

 

“I mean, I thought we’re not getting out [of] there alive.”

 

The embassy added the couple “initially appeared OK but were rushed to the hospital from their house after exhibiting signs of internal bleeding.”

 

They were discharged from the hospital last Wednesday.

 

The Valleros said they were told that Asiana Airlines will shoulder all the medical expenses.

 

The plight of the five Fil-Am survivors remained unreported for about two days after the crash, because the passengers’ nationalities were categorized based on the passports presented, according to a report by Sunstar.

 

Meanwhile, the embassy said Asiana Airlines denied the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco access to the flight manifest of its ill-fated flight.

 

“Despite repeated requests the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco has still not been given access to passenger manifest of Asiana Flight 214,” it said.

 

The embassy said the Philippine Consulate had anticipated the possibility that Filipino-Americans may be among the flight’s passengers.

 

Asiana, which also flies from the Philippines, is popular among Filipinos in America.

 

According to the embassy, the Consulate had earlier been told that “no Philippine passport holders and no Filipino-sounding names (were) among (the) US passport holders on board Flight 214.”

 

Asiana Airlines Flight 214 had a total of 307 passengers, 16 of whom were in-flight crew.

 

Two were confirmed dead, while 123 escaped unhurt.

 

While no categorical statement was released by aviation authorities, media updates revealed the “too low, too slow” approach taken by the pilots of the seven-year-old plane.

 

According to reports, it was the captain’s first time to fly a Boeing 777 to San Francisco International Airport, and with only 35 hours of flying time in such plane.

 

While a veteran pilot hired by Asiana Airlines back in 1994, the captain’s experience primarily included flying a Boeing 747. — Filipino Reporter