UPDATED: ‘Ho Lee Fuk’: KTVU News Anchor Tori Campbell Misnames Asiana Flight Pilots Involved in Crash

UPDATED AT 11:45 am July 16:

Asiana Airlines is now bringing legal action agaist KTVU for the above news clip, that has now been seen by millions of viewers all over the world.

The NTSB in Washington, DC issued the following statement to members of the media late Friday afternoon:

“Earlier today, in response to an inquiry from a media outlet, a summer intern acted outside the scope of his authority when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the aircraft,” the agency said in a statement.

UPDATED

FROM WIRE REPORTS:

It appears that a San Francisco television news station has been the subject of a racially charged prank while reporting the wrong names of the pilots involved in that horrific Asiana Flight crash earlier this week that claimed the lives of at least two people.

The names the news anchor reported on air include “Ho Lee Fuk,” “Wi Tu Lo,” “Bang Ow” and Captain Som Ting Wong.

This is what the SF Gate reported on Friday afternoon about the situation:

“During the noon newscast Friday, co-anchor Tori Campbell, announced that “KTVU has just learned the names of the four pilots who were on board” Asiana flight 214 when it crashed at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday. She then read from a teleprompter while a TV graphic displayed four fake names that clearly were someone’s idea of a joke. The first name — “Captain Sum Ting Wong” — should have been a give-away that something really was wrong. But Campbell kept reading… “Wi Tu Lo, Ho Lee Fuk, Bang Ding Ow.”

After a break, Campbell made an on-air correction, clarifying that the names were clearly wrong — but that they had confirmed them earlier with the National Transportation Safety Board.

The video has been posted on several major news websites within the past hour and Twitter hash tags are beginning to hit regarding the obvious foul-up.

Below is an official on-air statement from Campbell:

–Randy Economy
[email protected]