San Francisco plane crash: Asiana Airlines will sue KTVU after TV station 'used racially offensive names' for the pilots
The airline claims that the incident seriously damaged Asiana's reputation
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Asiana has announced that it will sue a San Francisco TV station it claims damaged their reputation by using bogus and racially offensive names for four pilots on a plane that crashed earlier this month.
An anchor for KTVU-TV read the names on air on Friday before apologising after the break. The report was accompanied by a graphic with the phony names listed alongside a photo of the burned-out plane that had crashed at San Francisco International Airport on 6 July, killing three and injuring dozens.
Videos of the report went viral after the broadcast and has amassed hundreds of thousands of views.
The National Transportation Safety Board has also apologised, saying a summer intern erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew.
Asiana has decided to sue KTVU-TV to “strongly respond to its racially discriminatory report” that disparaged Asians, Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said. She said the airline will likely file suit in U.S. courts.
The airline argues that the report seriously damaged Asiana's reputation, although Asiana have decided not to sue the NTSB because it said it was the TV station report, not the U.S. federal agency that damaged the airline's reputation. The spokesperson did not elaborate further.
Neither the station nor the NTSB commented on where the names originated.
The four pilots, who underwent questioning by a US and South Korean joint investigation team while in America returned to South Korea on Saturday. South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said officials plan to conduct separate interviews with them.
Additional reporting by agencies
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments