Did Korean cockpit culture contribute to Asiana crash?
US investigators are examining if aspects of Korean social hierarchy played a role in the crash of Asiana flight 214 in San Francisco
A comment by the top US air safety official, assessing the Asiana Airlines crash in San Francisco, sounds innocuous to the average ear, but it might amount to a link with a remarkable 1999 crash of a Boeing 747 in London, and the hierarchical structure of Korean culture.
"We are looking at communication between the two crew members," US National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said from the scene where the South Korean Boeing 777 crashed on Saturday, killing two teenaged girls bound from China to a summer camp in the United States.
Investigators began interviewing flight crew amid mounting indications that pilot error may have caused the accident.
Flight data showed the plane had been travelling at about 106 knots (196km/h) when its tail slammed into a sea wall short of the runway - sharply lower than the target speed necessary for landing. "137 knots is the speed that they want to have when they cross the threshold of the runway," Hersman said, noting that the crew were tasked with ensuring the correct speed of the plane.
"The crew is responsible to make a safe approach to the airport. (Air traffic controllers) are not responsible for speed management on the aircraft."