YouTube Video Shows KTVU-TV Incorrectly Identifying Asiana Pilots

Written by Stacie Chan 

News channel KTVU wrongly reported the names of the pilots on Asiana Flight 214 as “Sum Ting Wong,” “Wi Tu Lo,” “Ho Lee Fuk,” and “Bang Ding Ow” Friday. 

This YouTube video catches anchor Tori Campbell reading the names aloud and failing to realize they made up.

Campbell said on air:

"KTVU has just learned the names of the four pilots who  were on board of the flight. The NTSB has confirmed these are the names of the pilots on board Fight 214 when it crashed. We are working to determine exactly what roles each of them played during the landing on Saturday.

It is unclear how the station obtained the names, nor how the National Transportation Safety Board, which has been meticulous in its daily communications with the news media, could have confirmed incorrect names to KTVU, as the anchor reported.

KTVU shortly released a correction and apology: 

“We sincerely regret the error and took immediate action to apologize, both in the newscast where the mistake occurred, as well as on our website and social media sites,” said Tom Raponi, KTVU/KICU Vice President & General Manager. “Nothing is more important to us than having the highest level of accuracy and integrity, and we are reviewing our procedures to ensure this type of error does not happen again.”