KTVU accidentally names Asiana pilots ‘Sum Ting Wong’ and ‘Ho Lee Fuk’ in crash report (VIDEO)
PETALUMA, Calif. — Oakland's KTVU has apologized after accidentally using racist prank names in reporting the Asiana Flight 214's crash-landing in San Francisco on Saturday, according to Salon.
KTVU's Channel Two broadcast the “confirmed” pilot names as Captain Sum Ting Wong, Wi Tu Low, Ho Lee Fuk, Band Ding Ow. Exactly how this list did not immediately raise red flags remains unclear.
Related: Asiana will beef up pilot training on new jets; plans to sue KTVU
News anchor Tori Campbell read out the names in full seemingly unaware of a problem. The name Fuk, thankfully, was pronounced "fook" rather than the presumably intended alternative. Campbell later announced on-air that the names were in error but said the network had confirmed the list with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), reported San Francisco's SF Gate.
The network, a Bay Area FOX affiliate, has since apologized both on-air and online but insists that the pilot names had been cleared with the NTSB.
This is being disputed by the agency, with NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson telling SF Weekly that the agency did not release any names to KTVU or any other news organization.
"The error suggests KTVU was the victim of a hoax," surmised Poynter.
The correct names of the Asiana pilots are Lee Gang-guk and Lee Jeong-mi.
Watch the misreport as well as the network's on-air apology below:
The apology:
The affair has been followed closely online, meanwhile…