SAN MATEO, Calif.

Coroner confirms teenager was run over by fire truck

As the wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 burned, Ye Meng Yuan was lying on the ground just 30 feet away, buried by the firefighting foam rescue workers were spraying to douse the flames.

No one knows exactly how the 16-year-old Chinese student got to that spot, but officials say one thing is clear now: She somehow survived the crash. And in the chaotic moments that followed, a fire truck ran over Yuan, killing her.

New details released Friday by the coroner’s office compounded the tragedy for her family and confirmed the growing suspicions that emergency workers have had since soon after the July 6 crash: One of the three who died did so by rescuers’ actions.

“There’s not a lot of words to describe how badly we feel, how sorry we feel,” said San Francisco Fire Chief Joanne Hayes-White.

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WASHINGTON

FAA warns public against firing weapons at drones

People who fire guns at drones are endangering the public and property and could be prosecuted or fined, the Federal Aviation Administration warned Friday.

The FAA released a statement in response to questions about an ordinance under consideration in Deer Trail, Colo., that would encourage hunters to shoot down drones. The administration reminded the public that it regulates the nation’s airspace, including the airspace over cities and towns.

A drone “hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air,” the statement said. “Shooting at an unmanned aircraft could result in criminal or civil liability, just as would firing at a manned airplane.”

Under the proposed ordinance, Deer Trail would grant hunting permits to shoot drones. The permits would cost $25 each. 

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Airlines advised to inspect planes’ emergency locators

Airlines should inspect the emergency locator transmitters of all Boeing 787 “Dreamliners,” the Federal Aviation Administration urged Friday, after a fire earlier in the week aboard one of the airliners parked at London’s Heathrow Airport.

British aviation authorities, who are investigating the fire on an Ethiopian Airlines 787, have said the transmitters should be disabled after finding that one was the only thing with enough power to start a fire in the plane’s tail section, which was scorched.

The FAA made no mention Friday of disabling the transmitters. Instead, the agency said that after reviewing the British investigators’ recommendations, U.S. officials have begun working with Boeing to develop instructions for how airlines should conduct the inspections.

— From news service reports

 


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