DC-8 JA8032 named “Shiga” arrived in the San Francisco area after an uneventful flight from Tokyo. Normal communications were established, and the crew was radar vectored to the Woodside VOR and thence to intercept the ILS for runway 28L at San Francisco. The flight crossed the Woodside VOR at 17:16 at approximately 4,000 feet and, at 17:18:30, was cleared to descend to 2,000 feet . The flight descended in a constant, uninterrupted rate of descent from this time until about 6 seconds before water impact at 17:24:25. The aircraft was on the localizer and contacted the water about 2,5 miles from the end of runway 28L. There were no injuries to any of the passengers or crew during the accident and ensuing evacuation. The aircraft was recovered from the waters of San Francisco Bay about 55 hours after the accident. Repairs were carried out by United Air Lines and the plane was delivered back to JAL on March 31, 1969. PROBABLE CAUSE: “The improper application of the prescribed procedures to execute an automatic-coupled ILS approach. This deviation from the prescribed procedures was, in part, due to a lack of familiarization and infrequent operation of the installed flight director and autopilot system.”