Asiana pilot 'very concerned' about approach to SFO before crash

The pilot landing the Boeing 777 that crashed last summer at San Francisco International Airport told investigators he was "very concerned" about attempting a so-called visual approach without the runway's instrument landing aids, which were out of service because of construction, according to an investigative report released Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). 

Three young Chinese women died when Asiana Airlines Flight 214 clipped a seawall in San Francisco with its landing gear, skidded off the runway and burst into flames at the tragic end of an otherwise routine flight from Seoul, South Korea on July 6. Another 182 passengers and crew aboard the plane were injured. It was the first fatal commercial airline crash in the United States since 2009. 

A summary of pilot Lee Kang-Kook's interview with NTSB investigators was released Wednesday as part of a day-long hearing in Washington. According to the NTSB summary, Lee — a seasoned aviator undergoing transition training to the Boeing 777 — told investigators he felt "very stressful" about making the approach without landing aids.

This visual approach involves lining the jet up for landing by looking through the windshield and using numerous other cues, rather than relying on a radio-based system that guides aircraft to the runway. That system was out of service at the time of the crash while the runway was expanded, but has since been restored.

In his interview, Lee said that while privately he was "very concerned" about his ability to do a visual approach, "everyone else had been doing (it)."

Though Lee was an experienced pilot with the Korea-based airline — flying Airbus A320s for Asiana from 2005 until February this year — he was a trainee captain in the 777, with less than 45 hours in the jet. He had not piloted an airliner into San Francisco since 2004, according to NTSB investigator Bill English.

In the co-pilot's seat at the end of the 10-1/2 hour flight was Lee Jung-Min, who had 3,200 hours of experience in the Boeing 777, but was only recently certified to instruct other pilots on its operation.

English said the autopilot was switched off about three miles out, and that the airspeed dipped as low as 103 knots, or 34 knots below the ideal approach speed.

The aircraft meanwhile descended so low that an array of approach lights at the end of the runway — a key visual aid to landing — showed four red lights, a situation that would call for an aborted landing.

Lee told NTSB investigators that he did not immediately move to abort the landing and perform a "go around" as the plane descended because he felt that only the instructor pilot had the authority to initiate that emergency move.

A reluctance of junior officers to speak up had been an issue in past accidents, though industry training has tried to emphasize that safety should come first.

So far, the investigation has not found any mechanical problems with the 777 prior to impact, although testing is ongoing, English said. 

Lee conceded that he was worried about his unfamiliarity with the 777's autoflight systems. He admitted he had not studied the systems well enough and thought that the plane's autothrottle was supposed to prevent the jet from flying below minimum speed as it drew near the runway.

"This pilot should never have taken off," said attorney Ilyas Akbari, whose firm represents 14 of the passengers." The fact that the pilot was stressed and nervous is a testament to the inadequate training he received, and those responsible for his training and for certifying his competency bear some of the culpability for the tragedy of this crash."

Lee told investigators that as he realized his approach was off, he was worried he might "fail his flight and would be embarrassed."

Asiana's chief pilot Lee Sung-kil told investigators that the airline recommended pilots use as much automation "as possible."

He also said that the airline told its pilots to turn off the 777's autopilots below 1,000 feet when making visual approaches to airports. But a former Asiana pilot told the board that Asiana pilots were rarely allowed to practice visual approaches on landing and that many trainee pilots "did not feel confident and did not want to make any mistakes." 

The agency did not say whether Asiana's reliance on automatic landings was greater than the industry norm.

Recordings from the cockpit show Lee took the controls as the autopilot disconnected when the plane was about 1,500 feet above San Francisco Bay. 

Lee insisted in interviews that he had been blinded during a critical instant before the botched landing by a piercing light from outside the aircraft. NTSB investigators repeatedly probed him about the light, but he was unable to pinpoint its origin or how it precisely affected him.

The instructor pilot said he never saw a bright light outside the aircraft.

According to a transcript of the Asiana plane's cockpit voice recorder, the crew did not comment on the jet's low approach until it reached 200 feet above the ground.

"It's low," an unnamed crewman said at 11:27 a.m.

In an instant, the plane began to shake. At 20 feet, another crewman broke in: "Go around," he said. But it was too late.

NTSB investigators also raised concerns about a safety certification issue involving the design of Boeing 777's controls, warning that the plane's protection against stalling does not always automatically engage.

When the plane's autothrottle is placed in a "hold" mode, as it was during the Asiana flight, it is supposed to re-engage or "wake up" when the plane slows to its minimum airspeed.

But a pilot who oversaw the Boeing 787 flight tests for the Federal Aviation Administration told the NTSB that both the 787 and the 777 have the same anti-stall protection systems — and that the wake-up system did not always work when tested at minimum speeds.

Boeing's retired 777 chief pilot, John Cashman, underscored that auto controls are not designed to replace pilots.

"The pilot is the final authority for the operation of the airplane," he said. 

A final NTSB report is not expected before the middle of next year.

Wire services