The pilot driving the Asiana Airlines plane that crash landed on San Francisco International Airport had just 43 hours of pilot experience on the Boeing 777, airlines officials said today.
Pilot Lee Kang-kook had flown to the city from Seoul, South Korea for several times already between 1999 and 2004. He had also piloted the Boeing 777 nine times already flying to other cities, but it was his first time to steer the jet to SF before it crashed.
"He is a veteran pilot with almost 10,000 hours on other aircrafts like the 747," Asiana Airlines spokeswoman Lee Ho-min told reporters, as noted by ABC News. "He was in the process of getting a license for the new 777."
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 had over 300 passengers when it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport last Saturday. The plane's tail was torn off as it crash landed before bursting into flames.
According to ABC News, the crash killed two passengers and injured 181 more people. 22 are currently in critical condition and are being cared for at several hospitals.
Spokeswoman Lee said that the pilot flew with a Boeing 777 pilot mentor to follow world aviation standards, while he waited for his 777 license.
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Deborah Hersman noted that black box data found on the crash scene revealed that when the pilots learned that the plane was about to stall they tried to abort the landing just seconds before it crashed.
Analysis of the data further exposed that the pilots attempted to abort landing for another "go around" but it was too late.
Officials also noted that the flight was running at a speed significantly slower than the target speed of 137 knots, but declined to reveal the exact details.
As for the victims, the flight included at least 70 teachers and students from China who were about to attend a summer program in the U.S, China's Ministry of Education revealed in a statement.
The two fatalities in the crash were among the group of delegates from Jiangshan Middle School in the Zhejiang province. Wang Linjia and Ye Mengyuan were 16-year-old students who were about to attend the program.
As for the other injured passengers, most have suffered spinal fractures, head trauma and abdominal injuries, ABC noted. A number of the victims also had road rash all over their bodies, a doctor from the San Francisco General Hospital said.
"It appears that they were dragged over something," chief of surgery Dr. Margaret Knudson noted.
The doctor also noted that most of the patients in their hospital were conscious enough to speak to doctors.
(Video courtesy of ABC News)
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