Asiana pilot experience sparks debate

Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's No. 2 flag carrier, said the supervisory training captain aboard its jet that crashed-landed at San Francisco International Airport had no prior experience as an instructor on a Boeing 777 flight, Seoul's public broadcaster KBS reported Tuesday. It was the first time for captain Lee Jeong-min to sit as a supervisory trainer on a 777 flight since he acquired a license for the position last month, the report said, adding that Lee had about 12,000 hours of flying experience, including some 3,000 hours on the Boeing model. Asiana Flight 214, flying from Seoul with 307 people aboard including crew members, crashed upon landing at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, killing two Chinese high school girls and injuring 181 others, 49 seriously. The pilot who was in the captain's seat, Lee Kang-kuk, had 9,800 hours of flying experience, but had only 43 hours of flying time on the 777 over the course of nine flights. The Saturday flight was also his first to the San Francisco airport. Some critics have pointed out that it was unusual for a rookie instructor and a pilot training to fly a different model of plane to fly to an airport where landing is considered tricky, according to the report. Asiana Airlines, however, has stressed that Lee Kang-kuk and Lee Jeong-min are veteran pilots. Asiana Airlines President and CEO Yoon Young-doo said on Monday that the responsibility falls on instructor pilots if any incidents happen during training flights.