For someone who wasn't there, you sound awfully high and mighty. There was a massive debris field where that girl was lying - likely including lots of clothing and such that would do a nice job of camouflaging a young girl lying amidst the debris. Especially since airport fire fighting vehicles are designed to contain the fire-fighters within a (relatively) safe interior compartment. These aren't the fire trucks that drive down the street with guys hanging off the side.
I'm sorry - but this claim and others like it are simply not true - there was virtually NO debris in the place where the girl was run over. There was nothing to "camouflage" anything at that spot, and there is NO indication there was anyone, let alone a young girl, "lying" there. To the contrary there are several hi-rez photos showing passengers in that exact area.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3
These are in relatively chronological order (track individual people such as blue and white shirt). The first fire trucks had already arrived at front right side of aircraft. The next trucks per video arrived withing 20 seconds or less.
You can see the large number of people in the area to left of aircraft - exiting the slides. They show no signs or evidence that they see someone was down and hurt in the seconds between starting evacuation and when fire trucks arrived on that side of aircraft. And there are people in nearly the exact spot. Photo 3 in fact shows a backpack or bag on the ground that looks much like the one seen under the tarp, with a woman standing next to it.
There was also no fire on the left side of the aircraft at all, and initially only a beginning fire on the other side.
The
video in post 1955, couple with the hi-rez photos, provide an excellent picture of what was occurring.
Addtl hi-rez photos provide more evidence:
This
Photo "A" appears to provide direct evidence. WARNING - appears this may be graphic at hi-resolution.
First - it provides evidence of the amount of fire vehicle travel in the area of the left side near the slides and how close that travel was.
Second, there is no backpack or luggage near tarp, as in later shots - however a pile of luggage appears to be next to red fire truck - with a single, what appears to be black/gray backpack, in front of red firetruck. This looks very similar to bag that appears next to tarp later.
Third - tire tracks show pulling up very close to aircraft and slide - considerably closer than yellow truck # 9 - and then backing out again.
Fourth - it shows the tarp lying
directly over
(within the footprint of) both sets (driving in, and backing out) of the tire tracks of the left side of the truck.
Last - sadly, and again a
warning - a hi-resolution enlarged view of the tarp area appears to confirm the speculation - that this is the young woman who perished.
A slightly different
(Photo "B")view of above photo "A" - note, no luggage/backpack next to tarp. And one more
(Photo "C") different view yet.
Here is a subsequent view:
(Photo "D") ... red firetrucks are gone - note the tarp has been pulled towards the right side wheel tracks of the fire truck, and the luggage/backpack now next to the tarp (possibly holding it in place. The reason why the tarp has been pulled toward right side wheel tracks seems apparent from a zoom of Photo "A".
Another couple views of Photo "D" area.
Photo "E" and
Photo "F" ... note Photo "F" well shows the large amount of movement by fire trucks around the aircraft, particularly in the left side PAX evac area ... there are numerous wheel tracks directly in the area passengers were attempting to evacuate and get away from the aircraft in.
The Youtube Video shows at appx the 3:05 mark, a fire truck moving around the nose towards left side of the aircraft. You can clearly see passengers scrambling both directions to get out of the way, followed by a puff of black exhaust from the truck. At appx 3:22 two more fire trucks enter frame at high rate of speed.
One of those - on the left side of aircraft, and the one coming around the nose, through the evac'ing PAX, proceed to rear of aircraft. The outside one turns around and heads back towards the front - stopping in front of the slides. Several responders who seem to have come on foot are seen running up slides into the aircraft.
At appx 6:10 the truck sitting by left side moves off towards nose, as the first of large group of ambulances and police respond to scene.
Appx 7:12 the fire truck turns around again and makes its way back toward left wing area. At appx 7:59 this truck begins spraying foam under the left wing area. This is the
first foam applied to this side of the aircraft since the crash. It appears they only spray a single spot - the wing pylon area. Some goes over top of wing, but they immed reduce pressure to get back under the wing.
This truck remains stationary, intermittently spraying small shots of foam, until appx 10:32, when it starts moving forward and turns to right - making large circle to right and coming around to point at aircraft from a further distance. At appx 11:18 it again sprays same wing area.
The first video ends at this point. At that time it had appeared the fire on right side is largely out (just a little white smoke sporadically), people are still going in and out of the aircraft, and there is no evidence of fire inside or in roof.
As this second video opens - its apparent at least a few minutes have passed - the fire has reignited the aircraft is largely engulfed in smoke. It would appear that while the exterior fire was controlled it seems the composite hull had caught fire and burned thru the roof.
The same truck we left off with on left side at end of first video is still in position on left side after having circled right in a 360 turn.
Before the 360 degree turn it cannot have been as close to the aircraft as in Photo "D" - as it was able to make a right turn while missing the wing.
It appears the truck had moved closer in the cut between videos - pulling straight ahead towards the aircraft.
This truck was the FIRST foam applied on the left side of the aircraft - both before its 360 degree turn and after. During the initial foam application they should have had an excellent view - before any foam was applied in the area - of the location the girl was found. She would have been less than fire truck length almost straight ahead it would appear.
At appx 5:40 in 2nd video the left side truck backed away and shortly after the opposing side truck did the same, and drove off, presumably empty of foam?
It seems likely it was during this period of pulling ahead and backing out that the girl was run over.
At appx 8:01 a fire truck lined up at rear and began foaming along the length of fuselage. At about 8:40 another fire truck, from right side of aircraft, leaves - again presumably empty.
At appx 8:58 - more than 20 minutes after the crash - emergency vehicles are responding at speed to the tail section area. Survivors reported after evacuating and moving away from the aircraft they found the ejected crew near the tail section some 2000' away. They apparently
had to call the Hwy Patrol as no help had arrived even that long after the crash!
At appx 9:40 a airport fire truck appears to have arrived back on left side of aircraft, and was again pumping foam.
At appx 10:30 local fire department is seen arriving (red trucks).
The left side truck was spraying the SIDE of the fuselage between the two forward doors. At appx 10:39 there was a small explosion at the rear forward section door as it was sprayed with foam.
The video continues but it bounces around and is not continuously focused on fuselage offering little further value.
It would seem photos 1, 2 and 3 show it highly unlikely someone was injured and lying in that spot. Way too many people passed by - someone would have stopped and helped. These were shot appx 4 minutes after impact - before all but first two fire trucks (stationed on right side near nose) arrived.
We can speculate she must have been one of the later/last people out as fire and smoke were becoming an issue.
We can see the same truck (appx 7:12 in 1st video) to first apply foam (appx 7:59) made a large 360 degree turn to come back around and be in position to apply foam a second time (appx 11:18). This truck appeared to move closer to fuselage between 11:18 when 1st video ends - and I'm guessing a minute or two later when 2nd video begins( assuming they had to change card). At appx 5:40 in 2nd video this same truck backs away apparently empty.
This truck had good view before any foam applied, was 1st to apply foam, nd continued to apply from same spot. This is pretty clearly NOT truck #9 seen next to wing in later photos "A-F" linked above (unless it had moved position from earlier).
Other notes
1. A
quote from the SFGate.com site:
"Ye's body was found near the front of the jet's left wing. Wang's was found near the seawall that the jumbo jet struck as it landed short of the runway."
2. And to Machacha-post 2010 - claiming the pic is not proof - here is the
story link for the picture in post 1981 above conforming the tarp was covering the girls body.
3. A side note ... the fire crews appeared entirely unable to fight the fire in the fuselage. Only one used its boom. The others seemed on able to shoot foam over the top with almost no effect.
4. Also - unless there was some other flammable material in the top of the fuselage amidships - where the fire flared up considerably about 5 minutes into the 2nd video - it would appear that composite fuselages flammability might be a concern.