Asiana Airlines’ Boeing 777-200ER jetliner that crashed at San Francisco International Airport over the weekend has been assessed as a next-generation model.

The passenger jet, which was introduced in the local market in 2006 as a subordinate model of the Boeing 777 series, has also been picked as one of several aircraft that ensure a high-level of passenger safety with few technical defects.

“It has been seven years since the crashed model was manufactured. A jetliner with an operating age under 10 years is considered to be a new model,” said an official in the airline industry.

Globally, no fatal accidents have been reported among foreign companies that operate flight services with the Boeing 777 models. There were only minor injuries.

In January 2008, disaster was narrowly avoided during a crash landing of a British Airways Boeing 777 at Heathrow Airport in London. Six of the 136 passengers suffered minor injuries.

In April 2013, Korean Air, the nation’s largest air carrier, grounded a Boeing 777 passenger jet from Seoul bound for Los Angeles after a burning smell was detected in the cabin. All 288 passengers and crew members safely disembarked at Japan’s Narita Airport.

The fuel efficiency of the Boeing 777 series also exceeds that of average models produced by Boeing Co. The model, which can fly 40,000 kilometers farther than the previous model, is used on mid- and long-distance international routes of the nation’s flag carriers.

The 777-200ER is a long-haul, wide-body airliner which seats around 290 passengers. The Boeing’s Everett factory has been producing the 747, 767 and 777 models since 1997, when Boeing acquired U.S. aircraft maker McDonnell Douglas.

According to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the crash of Asiana flight 214 occurred at around 11:40 a.m. on Saturday (local time).

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)