KAL 801 :: essays research papers

Flight Synopsis Flight KAL 801 was scheduled to fly from Kimpo Airport in Seoul, Korea to A.B. Won Guam International Airport in Agana, Guam. The flight crew had met earlier to discuss the flight release, weather conditions and fill out all necessary paperwork. And on August 6th, 1997 at 9:27 PM the Boeing 747-300 departed Kimpo Airport for a three hour and fifty minute trip to Guam. The flight crew consisted of a captain, first officer and a flight engineer. The captain had several flight hours as a pilot in the Korea Air Force until Korean Air hired him in 1987. Not only did he have many hours flying a 747, he received a flight safety award from the company president, three months prior to the crash. He also earned two excellent evaluations in the simulator proficiency checks and passed the company’s mandatory Level three English test. In addition, the captain along with his first officer watched a video presentation based on the familiarization of the Guam Airport and studied approach charts several hours before the accident. (Krause, 2003) The first officer had also served in the Korean Air Force before joining the ranks with Korean Air in 1994. Although he was only two years younger than the captain, he had a high number of flight hours as a 747 first officer. However, his performances in the simulator evaluations were slightly above average. One instructor noted that his â€Å"altitude management on nonprecision approach was somewhat less than desirable† and adding that he was â€Å"somewhat slow to carry out directions† (Krause, 2003) The flight engineer was also a very distinguished pilot and was hired by KAL in 1979. Similar to the captain, he earned excellent ratings in his evaluations of crew management and simulator tests, and also passed the English proficiency exams. (Krause, 2003) â€Å"†¦a weak low pressure trough is moving slowly [through] the Mariana Islands†¦resulting in gentle to moderate easterly winds and scattered showers. The effects of the upper level low far to the northeast have diminished during the past 12 hours or so. Light to moderate showers should be expected except for isolated afternoon thunderstorms due to solar heating†, this was the weather report provided by the Guam Weather Station. However, at around 0122, the crew received a message via the Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS), â€Å"†¦wind calm, visibility seven [clouds] one thousand six hundred scattered, two thousand five hundred scattered, temperature two seven [Celsius], dew point two four, altimeter niner eight six, runway six in use.