Asiana Pilot in Deadly Plane Crash Was In Training

The pilot in charge of landing Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was in training at the time of the fatal plane crash on Saturday. While Lee Kang-kook was a veteran pilot for the airline, he was training for the long-range plane.

A spokeswoman for Asiana explained, “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 plane].”

The spokeswoman added that Lee “has a lot of experience and previously flown to San Francisco on different planes including the B747.” His co-pilot also has 3,220 hours of flying experience with Boeing’s 777 — the plane that crashed after it appeared to hit a seawall on the edge of its runway.

The pilot in Saturday’s fatal plane crash started his career as an intern in 1994. He has 9,793 hours of flying experience, though he has just 43 hours with the 777.

On Sunday, the National Transportation Safety Board announced that the airplane was traveling “significantly below” the speed it was supposed to be at when it crash landed. The pilot in training also tried to abort the landing just seconds before impact.

NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman added on Sunday that it is too early to tell if the plane crash was caused by pilot error or a mechanical failure. The control tower was not alerted to any plane issues during landing and there was no evidence of problems with the flight of landing until seven seconds before the crash.

But witnesses said the plane appeared to be too low on approach. It appeared to hit the ground before the runway started. The impact tore off part of the jet’s tail and possibly its landing gear as well.

Lee’s co-pilot, Lee Jeong-min, had 3,220 hours of flying experience with the 777 and 12,387 total hours of his experience. While Asiana’s chief executive believes the fatal crash was not the result of mechanical failure, he did not say whether the pilot in training could be at fault.

[Image via Twitter/NTSB]