[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 8]
[House]
[Page 11045]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONDOLENCES TO THOSE AFFECTED BY THE CRASH OF ASIANA AIRLINES FLIGHT 
                                  214

  (Ms. SPEIER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join Leader Pelosi in expressing 
my condolences to all those affected by the crash of Asiana Airlines 
Flight 214 on Saturday morning at San Francisco International Airport 
in my district.
  My thoughts and prayers are with the families of the two victims of 
the crash on their way to a summer camp in southern California. My 
thoughts and prayers are with all those who were seriously injured and 
face months or years of recovery.
  The miracle of Flight 214 is that 305 passengers and crew survived 
this horrific tragedy. That is due, in no small part, to the many 
heroes of that day: crew, fellow passengers, valiant first responders, 
SFO staff, everyone who evacuated the plane, even when fire was burning 
in the fuselage; the crewmember who carried a young passenger off the 
plane on her back because he was too frightened to escape; the 
firefighters and San Francisco Police Officer Jim Cunningham, who was 
wearing no protective gear, who entered the plane and helped four 
passengers escape, including one who was trapped. It was nothing short 
of heroic and remarkable.
  Plane travel is safer than it ever has been, but this crash is a 
reminder that we need never stop the focus on safety. Thankfully, the 
National Transportation Safety Board, under the leadership of Chairman 
Deborah Hersman, is there to fully investigate and determine exactly 
what happened.
  Mr. Speaker, this was a horrible tragedy, but we have much to be 
thankful for.

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