Days after Asiana Airlines flight 214 crash landed at San Francisco International Airport, passengers have (slowly) returned home, memorials were held for the two teen victims, the pilot's prowess has been called into question, and the airline CEO has publicly apologized to victims returning home.
First up, the plane's slow speed upon landing has been called into question. USA Today has more:
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was traveling well below its target speed for landing when it crashed short of the runway Saturday, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said at a briefing Sunday."The speed was significantly below 137 knots, and we're not talking a few knots," she said.
Asiana Airlines said the pilot in charge of landing the Boeing 777 was in training for flying that model of jet, and that this was his first flight into San Francisco at the controls of a 777, the Associated Press reported.
The airline also plans to improve pilot training. NBC News notes:
Asiana Airlines plans to improve training for its pilots, the carrier’s chief executive said Tuesday, as the investigation into the cause of Saturday’s crash in San Francisco continued.Asiana chief executive Yoon Young-doo has refused to blame pilot error for the crash, saying, "The two pilots on the plane have enough qualifications, having flown to San Francisco 33 times and 29 times respectively.''
Also on Monday, Asiana Airlines President and CEO Yoon Young-doo greeted family members of two Chinese students killed on flight 214, as well as other passengers at the Incheon International Airport in west of Seoul, South Korea, on Monday. At least one person wasn't buying it. Below, the uncle of crash victim Ye Mengyuan confronted Young-doo at Shanghai airport, saying: "You're offering us such a complicated route, with three transfers, to get there. You have no sincerity!"
