Pilot Error Blamed for ’97 Crash of Jetliner in Guam

The crash of a Korean Air jumbo jet that killed 228 people when it slammed into a hillside in Guam two years ago was the result of errors by the cockpit crew that might have been prevented if the airline had provided better training for its pilots, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded Tuesday.

The safety board also said the Federal Aviation Administration did not do enough to assess the safety of foreign airlines flying to the United States and recommended steps to improve oversight of foreign carriers. The final report on the Aug. 6, 1997, hearing came as the safety board this week began an investigation of an EgyptAir jetliner that crashed after taking off from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.

The five-member board unanimously determined that the probable cause of the crash of Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300 with 254 people aboard, was the captain’s failure to adequately brief his co-pilot and flight engineer on instrument landing procedures in the event of bad weather and their failure to countermand his actions just before the crash.

The agency said the captain’s fatigue--he complained he was sleepy during the five-hour flight, which was due to arrive at 1 a.m.--and the airline’s inadequate pilot training contributed to the accident and that the FAA failed to adequately manage the air control system at Won Guam International Airport. Guam is a U.S. territory.

Oversight of foreign airlines has become an increasing concern among U.S. aviation safety officials. With the growing trend toward “code-sharing,” the arrangement where one airline will sell a ticket under its name even though at least part of the flight is flown on another airline, U.S. aviation officials are concerned that the U.S. government does not have adequate control over the safety of foreign airlines.

In its conclusions on the contributing factors in the crash, the board cited the Korean Aviation Bureau for being “ineffective in its oversight of Korean Air’s operations and pilot training program.” Korean Air has had one of the worst safety records of any major air carrier, but before the accident its operations had not raised warning flags at either the Korean aviation agency or within the FAA in Washington.

Korean Air has since spent $114 million to overhaul its training system. A company spokeswoman said Tuesday that the airline has addressed the training concerns.

The agency also concluded that the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment program “is not adequate to determine whether foreign air carriers operating into the United States are maintaining an adequate level of safety.”