NTSB: Autopilot, autothrottle off at time of Asiana 214 crash

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The autopilot of Asiana Flight 214 was disconnected shortly before a crash-landing in San Francisco that killed three people, a report released Wednesday said.

The National Transportation Safety Board released the preliminary report as it began a hearing in Washington into the July crash, USA Today reported. The hearing was originally scheduled for Tuesday but was postponed because of the poor weather.

The report said the autothrottle was changed to "hold" from "thrust" when the plane was at about 1,600 feet. That could be critical because the plane, a Boeing 777 was going too slow when it hit a seawall, investigators said.

A trainee pilot, one of three pilots on the South Korean plane, said he believed the autothrottle was "always working" even when changed to hold. The pilot, Lee Gang Guk, who was making his first landing at San Francisco, said he was "very stressed."

Three passengers were killed as the plane started coming apart and caught fire. All 16 in the crew and 288 of the passengers survived, although more than 200 were injured.

The report said the trainee was asked whether he felt confident before the crash about his knowledge of the system: "He stated he was not so confident because he felt he should study more."

Two Asiana pilots who were in a class in April with the trainee said an instructor specifically told them the autothrottle would not re-engage automatically once it was put on hold, saying he had personal experience of that.