Asiana Airlines scraps lawsuit over racist pilot names
Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it no longer plans to sue a San Francisco TV station over the use of racially offensive names. KTVU-TV has already apologized for using fake names for four pilots on a plane that crashed in San Francisco on July 6, Asiana Airlines said.
The wreckage of Asiana Flight 214 sits on a tarmac at San Francisco International Airport in San Francisco last week. The air carrier said Wednesday that it had scrapped plans to sue a San Francisco TV station over the use of fake, racially offensive pilot names on the air.
Jeff Chiu/AP/File
Seoul
South Korea (AP) — Asiana Airlines said Wednesday it no longer plans to sue a San Francisco TV station over the use of racially offensive names.
The South Korean air carrier said that KTVU-TV has already apologized for using fake names for four pilots on a plane that crashed in San Francisco on July 6. It will no longer sue, as it had said it would do.
Asiana says it wants to focus on supporting passengers and families. The crash killed three and injured dozens.
Last week, an anchor for KTVU-TV read the fake names — apparently someone's idea of a prank to use fake Asian-style names that sounded out distress calls and curse words — on air and then apologized after a break.
Asiana earlier said the report seriously damaged its reputation. It said Monday that it would sue the TV station to respond to the racially discriminatory report that disparaged Asians.