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Dec. 12 (UPI) -- The National Transportation Safety Board held its first hearing on the Asiana Airlines flight that crashed in San Francisco on July 6 and released video footage of the crash. The NTSB declined to show the footage at a hearing held yesterday on the effects of automated flights systems on human performance, Asiana pilot training, flight cabin safety, and emergency response, citing that the video was "potentially disturbing."
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Yesterday's hearing offered a glimpse into what led the Boeing 777 to crash land, killing three young passengers. Pilot Lee Kang Kuk has told investigators he was "very concerned" about landing at SFO because "it was very stressful, very difficult to perform a visual approach with a heavy airplane, always." At the time of the crash, SFO's glide scope, used to help planes land, was temporarily out of service, therefore requiring pilots to rely on their own visual of the glide path. Despite feeling uncomfortable with landing the plane at SFO, Lee did not raise his concerns with the senior pilot, who was on his inaugural flight as a trainer, or feel like he could choose to abort the landing without the other pilot's permission, citing cultural deference to seniors.
[Los Angeles Times] [San Jose Mercury News]
