The pilot steering the Asiana Airlines plane that crashed into San Francisco airport on Saturday was reportedly receiving on-the-job training, but airline officials stated that his inexperience wasn't to blame for the accident that killed two.
President of Asiana Airlines Yoon Young-Doo told CBS News that newly appointed pilot Lee Gang-guk "was undergoing an OJT (on-the-job training) flight in order to gain experience...to fly a new type of airplane. For this OJT flight, an experienced pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flight experience was onboard as an instructing pilot, and took all responsibility regarding flight."
Gang-guk had practice flying the plane for a total of about 43 hours.
Yoon insisted that the airline would not holding Gang-guk responsible for the accident until the investigation on the crash proved otherwise.
"We're currently awaiting results from American's National Transportation Safety Board," he said. "OJT flights are a widely accepted training practice in the international aviation industry...the speculation [that Lee's inexperience contributed] is something that cannot be permitted and is different from fact."
Gang-guk was flying the Boeing 777 carrying more than 300 passengers for the first time as he tried to land into San Francisco International Airport, airline officials said.
Some aviation experts said that he flew onto the runway too slowly to land safely.
But details on what caused the crash are still murky-a portion of the officials involved in the case claimed that a malfunction on the plane was the reason that it cartwheeled down the runway, ripping the top of the aircraft, popping the tail and wing off.
The South Korean government stated on Monday that an extensive investigation has started with a focus on engine inspection and landing equipment on all Boeing 777 planes that Asiana and Korean Air own, CBS reported.
Head of the NTSB Deborah Hersman said that the slow speed could have set off warning bells that Flight 214 might stall. She also reported that pilots tried to stop the landing, but it was too late-the plane crashed not even one second later.
During a news conference, Hersman stated that the plane was moving at a speed far below the objective speed of 137 knots per hour (157 mph).
"We're not talking about a few knots," she said.
On Sunday, the San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said that his unit was looking into the deaths of two teenage Chinese girls who were on board, both on their way from hometown Jiangshan to San Francisco for summer camp, according to the Agence France Presse.
