San Francisco Plane Crash: Asiana Pilot Lee Kang-kook Tells Investigators Flash Of Light Impaired Vision

Lee Kang-kook, the pilot who crash landed Asiana flight 214 at San Francisco International Airport Saturday, reportedly told investigators that he was temporarily blinded by a bright light seconds before the landing occurred.

In 2011, pointing a laser at an aircraft became a federal crime after such incidents reportedly happened an astounding 3, 600 times in 2011.

“Shining a laser into the cockpit of an aircraft is not a joke. These lasers can temporarily blind a pilot and make it impossible to safely land the aircraft, jeopardizing the safety of the passengers and people on the ground,” Randy Babbitt said at the time, according to CNN.

Deborah A. Hersman, director of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that the NTSB is still unsure if a laser was involved in the crash.

“We need to look into it. We need to understand what he’s talking about,” Hersman said according to Los Angeles Times.

In addition to looking into the pilot’s claims, Hersman announced that they would also be investigating what settings (or “modes”) were on at the time of the landing.

“What was the final mode the airplane was in? We still need to validate the data. We need to make sure how the devices were set and what the pilots understood the modes to be,” Hersman explained.

Asiana flight 214 was carrying over 300 passengers, and the crash resulted in the death of two young women, and caused many injuries.

– Olivia Truffaut-Wong

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