Cedar City woman witnesses SF plane crash


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SALT LAKE CITY — A woman from Cedar City watched a plane at the San Francisco International Airport crash as she was getting ready to board a flight Saturday.

Stacia Shipp, of Cedar City, was at the gate ready to board her Virgin American flight from San Francisco to Las Vegas when she saw the Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 petering on the runway. As she stepped out of line and around a corner, she saw the plane plummet to the ground. She said smoke billowed from the aircraft as fire trucks and ambulances raced to the aircraft to help those on board.

"Everybody was at the windows, taking pictures, saying, ‘Did you see that, did you see that? Did you see what just happened?' And of course, everybody that was right there by us did see it," Shipp said. "I did not think when I very first saw it that people had survived."

As of 7 p.m. Saturday, officials said the crash had killed two and injured at least 181 people. One person of the 307 passengers and crew remained unaccounted for at that time.

Shipp had met with her daughter in Southern California and driven up to San Francisco to visit her son earlier this week. She was headed home Saturday morning.

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"I called my husband and I said, ‘I am not flying. I'm renting a car and driving home,'" Shipp said. "It makes you really nervous. At least, we know these things do not happen very often, and when I'm right there and see it happen, I think, 'Now I have to get on a flight.' "

She said her husband calmed her and told her to get another flight. She and a friend in San Francisco took the BART train to Oakland, where she was catching a flight home.

In Salt Lake City, people headed to San Francisco were also making alternative travel plans as their planes were delayed or cancelled.

One passenger heading to San Francisco to visit his college roommate was receiving conflicting reports about his flight being delayed or canceled. He said flights to neighboring airports like San Jose and Oakland are booked, so he may just rent a car and drive.

"Right now it says it was canceled, the lady over there told me that there was a one hour delay. And she also said if it is canceled that there aren't any flights until at least Thursday," said traveler Justin Mohren, a New Jersey resident.

Some flights remain cancelled or delayed, and it is recommended travelers check a tracking site, like flightaware.com, before heading out.

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