KAL to Be Barred from Launching New Int"l Routes for A Year

The government took punitive action on Wednesday against Korean Airlines as pilot error was pointed out as the probable cause of a crash that claimed 228 lives in Guam two years ago.

'Korean Air will be banned from flying to Guam and Saipan over the next two years and also be barred from increasing flights or launching new services on all international routes for a year,' an official at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation said.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), a US federal agency composed of independent investigation experts, said Tuesday the crew were in 'confusion' and 'did not follow procedures.'

Winding up a 27-month investigation, the NTSB revealed that not only had the captain 'failed to execute a non-precision approach,' but both the flight engineer and the first officer 'effectively failed to monitor and cross-check execution of the approach.'

The captain's fatigue combined with lack of flight crew training by Korean Air were said to have contributed to the accident as the plane prepared to land during rain.

Korean Air accepted the government's action, an airline official said.

'That's what we have expected. We will take this as a good lesson to make a fresh start.'

The airline had voluntarily suspended regular flights between Seoul and Guam since the 1997 crash when flight 801 slammed into the side of a mountain a few kilometers (miles) from Guam airport late at night and in heavy rains.