Asiana says pilot of crashed plane was in training
SEOUL
(Reuters) - Asiana Airlines Inc said the pilot in charge of landing the
Boeing 777 that crash-landed at San Francisco's airport on Saturday was
training for the long-range plane and that it was his first flight to
the airport with the jet.
"It
was Lee Kang-kook's maiden flight to the airport with the jet... He was
in training. Even a veteran gets training (for a new jet)," a
spokeswoman for Asiana Airlines said on Monday.
The
plane was travelling "significantly below" its intended speed and its
crew tried to abort the landing just seconds before it hit the seawall
in front of the runway, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
said on Sunday.
"He has a lot of experience and previously flown to San Francisco on
different planes including the B747... and he was assisted by another
pilot who has more experience with the 777," the spokeswoman said.
Lee, who started his career at Asiana as an intern in 1994, has 9,793
hours of flying experience, but only 43 hours with the Boeing 777 jet.
Co-pilot Lee Jeong-min, who has 3,220 hours of flying experience with
the Boeing 777 and a total of 12,387 hours of flying experience, was
helping Lee Kang-kook in the landing, the spokeswoman said.
National Transportation Safety Board Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said
Sunday that it was too early to say whether pilot error or mechanical
failure were to blame.
But she said there was no evidence of problems with the flight or the
landing until 7 seconds before impact, when the crew tried to increase
the plane's speed and the plane responded normally. The control tower
was not alerted to any plane issues.
Witnesses said the plane on Saturday appeared to be too low as it
approached the runway, hit the ground before the runway started and the
impact sheared off part of the tail of the plane and possibly landing
gear as well.
Asiana's chief executive said on Saturday that he did not believe the
fatal crash was caused by mechanical failure, although the carrier
refused to be drawn on whether the fault laid with pilot error
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