KC135777
30th Apr 2008, 17:05
Subject: CORRUPTION INVOLVING B-777 `TRAINING' by a CASA GOVERNMENT
OFFICIAL and/or KOREAN AIR.
To: ALL PILOT APPLICANTS; KOREAN AIR MANA GEMENT; KOREAN AIR
FOREIGN CAPTAINS
From: Captain **named removed**
This report is 8 pages long. It is submitted to inform you of the
corruptio n involving B-777 `training' by Korean Air and/or a CASA
government official. Please advise all B-777 pilot applicants to
Korean Air that they have a very poor chance of passing a Korean Air
check ride causing a blemish on their professional record.
Korean Air B-777 Dec 3, 2007 training class.
As of April, 2008 the final pass/fail results for our class is:
There is only one pilot that passed his CASA check ride. Only one
pilot remains employed out of six (6) that started in the Dec 3, 2007
B-777 class at Korean Air! Two members of our class had thousands of
previous hours flying the B-777 (they were NOT newly rated) and the
rest of us were highly qualified, but newly rated&n bsp;B-777 Captains.
Every one of us passed ALL of our other Korean Air check rides and
oral examinations and recommendation ride. We passed everything
except for the final CASA check ride. Neither of the previously rated
B-777 pilots passed their check ride. The only one that passed was
newly rated and had been a B-737 Captain. (More background
information regarding my qualifications and flying experience is
outlined below.) The statistics presented in this repo rt should be
very revealing, especially if you consider the fact that most of the
class previous to ours didn't succeed in making it through their check
rides either. I understand that the same CASA inspector conducted
their check rides as well. And the class before that - most of their
pilots failed. For the last three classes in a row, CASA and/or
Korean Air failed all of the pilots except for one or two. Korean Air
refused to give me any details on the exact failure rate and told my
class that those pilots had failed because they lied on their resumes.
That is not consistent with the story that I heard from a very
reliable source or the way myself and others in my class have been
treated. Statistically, anyone should be able to see that s omething
is very wrong with this process! It is devastating to the pilots that
have invested so much of their time, money and professional reputation
to pursue a job at Korean Air. My intent in this report is to inform
new applicants of the situation at Korean Air before you throw away
your time and money. I also must set the record straight to protect
my professional reputation. I am telling you this so you can hear it
from me personally instead of the "spin" that will surely be put on
the real truth by CASA and Korean Air management. I have no doubt
that they will simply say `[we] were not qualified' and/or did not
live up to Korean Air Standards or didn't follow the POM/FOM. It is
not true! Do not believe it. Here is why:
My credentials: I passed the Korean Air Law Test, the Korean Air Oral
Exam, the Korean Air simulator check ride, the Korean Air ETOPS check
ride, the recommendation ride and the CASA oral exam. I have never
faile d a check ride in 34 years of flying. I starting flying Gliders
in 1974 and was flying C-130's in the U.S. Air Force by 1976. I have
flown for 34 years without accidents, incidents or any violations. I
have received awards for flight safety including the Delta Air Lines
2005 Safety Award. I have been an instructor with thous ands of hours
of instructor time and I have been a Line Check Pilot. I have more
than 15,000 hours of total flying experience. I have FAA ratings on
the B-777; B-767; B-757; MD88; and L-382 (C-130). I am a graduate of
one of the hardest academic schools in the world, the United States
Air Force Academy. I was employed at Delta Air Lines, Inc. for over
21 years and have flown as Captain for 16 years (including Air Force).
New Hire Status: When Korean Air offered me a conditional job based
upon obtaining the B-777 rating at my own expense, I paid for and
received the B-777 rating from Boeing / Alteon in Seattle , Washington
, USA . I passed all oral examinations and rating rides in the
simulator at Boeing/Alteon in Seattle , Washington . Although it was
a new type rating, I was highly qualified and have been a Captain on
the B-767/ 757 for eight years and have over 7,000 hours of PIC time
at Delta (much more if you include Air Force time). I started ground
school class with Korean Air in Seoul , Korea on December 3, 2007 and
started my Operational Experience (OE) training on February 11th 2008.
"No Notes" and Negative Training: As of March 25, 2008 I have flown 8
trips (16 sectors/legs) with 5 instructors. I have had so many
instructors because I requested an instructor change after the first
four legs and apparently they could not regain continuity in
scheduling with any other instructor. It was necessary for me to
request a replacement of the first instructor and here is why: He
spoke very poor English at best. I just couldn't understand him. It
could have been his frustration in his inability to speak English that
caused him to communicate with me by actually yelling at me, insulting
me and belittling me. He chastised and berated me for not knowing
all HIS flight techniques that are being taught as procedures. I only
understood a small percentage of what he said although his favorite
line was "Do you understand!!?" in a booming voice. No, I didn't
understand. However, I did understand him when he said he couldn't
believe that I had been a Captain for a major airline. Others in my
class complained repeatedly of similar disrespectful comments and
treatment. My final decision to change instructors was made when he
told me I could no longer refer to any of my written notes. He
threatened to have me fired if I referenced them again. He threatened
me with termination for doing what I have always done for 34 years!
Since I had just started my Operational Experience (OE) and since so
many others had been terminated, I had to consider his comment to be a
viable threat. He was a Korean A ir Line Check Pilot (LCP). His
unreasonable requirement included my not being able to use the route
study notes that I had written down from the required viewing of the
audio visual route and airport videos (AV Packs). This was a double
standard because he constantly referred to his own notes for
frequencies, PA's etc., etc.. EVERYONE I have ever talked to and
flown with at Korean Air Lines has told me they used their notes to
learn from, fly with, and to survive the arduous memory requirements
of Korean Air training. I have used personal flight notes for 34
years starting in gliders with a knee board to write notes while
flying. T he absurdity of his `no notes' concept is - if they wanted
us to memorize everything, then why do we even have electronic
checklists, POM, FOM and PA guides or even the `Airport Analysis
Charts' in the cockpit? Those first four legs (sectors) of my OE were
totally wasted in negative training. At its worst, it was pure
harassment. At its best, every ride was treated as a check ride. It
was constant ridicule with very little instruction. It certainly was
NOT western style train ing. I knew I would not survive the OE with
this instructor so my only choice was to request an instructor change.
It was a difficult decision to make because I had been told of the
potential dire conseque nces of requesting an instructor change (due to
the `losing face' issue). That difficult choice was only made after a
lot of consultation. I consulted with Foreign Captain "Advisor to
Line Operations", Al Makdisi. He told me not to use my notes. I also
consulted with Tom Divine, "Advisor Flight Standards and Training" and
many other line pilots.
Each new instructor taught me his own techniques and called them
Korean Air procedures. I complied and faithfully followed those
procedures and documented all the changes in a script that I sent via
email with multiple updates to many other pilots who were starting
training class at Korean Air Lines in order to assist them in getting
a head start before their OE. After studying for months, I k new the
content of the FOM/POM but was not aware of its interpretation or its
application until I was almost finished with my OE since each new
instructor `inspired' constant changes to the techniques and "the
script". Even on my check ride.
The final Check ride:
03/25/08: I received my CASA Check ride by CASA Captain Hwang Sa Sik
#01411234. He is a former senior Korean Air Captain.
Cap tain Choi Mu Yeol #9005765 was the LCP in the right seat acting as
First officer who was worried for his job. He did not support me
throughout the flight or in the debriefing because he would certainly
fail his next check ride if he spoke on my behalf. He therefore
remained silent while CASA Captain Hwang talked. He apologized to me
for not supporting me after CASA Hwang departed.
I contend that my check ride result was predetermined long before I
left the ground. It was a hoax and a farce. The results had nothing
to do with my perfor mance. CASA Captain Hwang lied about the events.
He fabricated the reasons for failing me on my c heck ride which I
will discuss later in this report. As far as I am concerned I passed
in every department. I have never failed a check ride in my life and
this was no exception. I admit there were a few debriefing items
(because it is impossible to do all Korean techniques), but absolutely
nothing was unsafe and my landings we picture perfect smooth landings
with cross winds. It is obvious that Captain Hwang, SA-SIK a CASA
government official, is intentionally failing foreign B-777 pilots on
their check rides. He either has a personal agenda or is being
instructed to fail us by someone at K orean Air. I think he is failing
foreign pilots because he was a former Korean Air Captain himself. He
either has a `bone to pick' with Korean Air due to possible forced
early retirement or is helping his union pilot friends at Korean Air
by keeping the B-7 77's grounded without foreign captains to fly them.
Maybe he is just trying to ensure Korean Captains upgrade faster than
Foreign Captains. I don't know which answer is correct, but I would
bet my career on the fact that the failure rate of domestic Korean
Captains is nowhere close to the dismal failure rate of foreign
Captains. I think Cap tain Hwang is intentionally countering the
Korean Air's President Jong-Hee Lee's push to hire more foreign
Captains. His dishonorable actions are both personal and political
and foreign Captains are being caught in the middle as victims who
spent precious time and money pursuing an unachievable dream with
potentially dire consequences to their professional reputation. The
check ride was a hoax and a farce. Korean Air is lending credibility
to this farce by terminating the employment of the foreign Captains
after not passing the CASA check ride. This treatment of Foreign
Captains does not appear to be happ ening as often on any other fleet.
Everyone else (in my class) on all EXC EPT the B-777 has passed their
check ride (They probably had other CASA officials as the check
pilot). Don't let Korean Air tell you it was the qualifications of
our B-777 class. All except one in our class were OVER QUALIFIED and
at least as qualified as other foreign Captains on the other fleets
who passed their check rides.
Additional details of the check ride:
Prior to the check ride I had not been given any time for route study
since my or al was less than 24 hours prior to flight. After passing
my oral with a high score, CASA Capt Hwang requested my log book. He
expressed that he wanted to confirm my hours. I told him I did not
have my pilot log book in Korea (except for the Korean Air log book I
had started) and offered to give him a letter the following day from
Delta A ir Lines, my former employer, which gave a break down of my
flight time.
On the morning of my check ride I showed up 3 hours prior to push back
time for route study. Captain Choi, the LCP, showed up VERY late and
did not even know a check ride had been scheduled. I was frantic and
only had 15 minutes to brief him before going to the aircraft for the
`Joint Briefing'.
CASA Capt Hwang met us at the aircraft and requested my OE training
record upon arrival. I also presented him with the copy of the letter
from Delta Air Lines. (Early into the flight to Hong Kong , he
actually took my OE training record from me and then proceeded to
reference the FOM as he started writing. Apparently he needed help
from the FOM and my OE training record in developing his reasons for
failing me. It was too early in the check ride to start writing
because at that point, nothing had happened.) It would be impossible
for anyone to maintain an objective and neutral opinion after reading
anyone's OE training record. He is human and would become biased to
look for past weaknesses - even if he saw you do everything right on
your check ride. This biased process would never be allowed in most
ICAO nations.
At the end of a very long day, according to CASA Captain HWANG SA SIK,
a previous 30 year Korean Air Captain, I failed my check ride. I do
not accept his appraisal and am insulted by his masquerade of
fairness. His business card has the audacity to display "Trust
Builder" in its title. This CASA official lied and exaggerated events
regarding many of the events of my flight. Because of this action he
is corrupt and is involved in an unknown personal agen da. Why did he
do this? Maybe he was forced to retire from Korean Air at an early
age and this is a grudge. Maybe he is still sympathetic to the union
activities at Korean Air. Since everyone else on all the other fleets
passed their check ride, the results of the B-777 are too unusual and
suspicious to ignore. Statistically, if the check ride was a fair and
unbiased evaluation, it would be impossible that most Foreign Captains
fail the check ride from the same CASA Hwang. Grounding the B-777's
because there are not enough pilots to fly them is a more likely
scenario and certain to make a statement. CASA Hwang graded me on
techniques that he insisted were procedures. I will go into the
details later in this report. As you know, there are no more second
chances after your Operational Experience (OE) 12 + 4 sectors. There
are no more training rides given and since there is only one CASA
pilot giving the check rides on this aircraft, chances of a successful
recheck would be infinitesimally small. Based on Korean Air past
practice, most pilots have been fired after failing the check ride and
attending the obligatory/compulsory meeting. Excell ent pilots have
been cheated by CASA and KOREAN Air and sent home after 4 months of
extremely hard work. Needless to say, I was angry at the result but
not shocked! I knew the chances of success were slim based on the
statistical results of the previous two B-777 classes. You shouldn't
expect to pass if statistically only one in your class will make the
grade. However, I have never failed a check ride in my 30 years of
flying and in my opinion; this should have been no exception. I will
admit it wasn't perfect by Korea Air Standards, but, as all of you
know from your own experience, how could it be? Many standards are an
unknown moving target. For instance, have you seen check ride
criteria from CASA? Does it exist? If it does exist, does it live up
to the farcical written English standard of the CASA Korean Air Law
test? Could it be read and understood by the person taking the check
ride? No standards were briefed to me by CASA and he cert ainly did
not live up to mine. The pilot world should know of this corruption
before wasting their time and effort in Korea .
In the spirit of trying to do my best, I tried to brief endlessly and
never stopped saying "check" in meaningless fashion. In the end it
didn't count because CASA says I failed and that is all that matters
in Korea . There were no safety issues on my check ride, although
according to CASA h e tried very hard to create some by making up a
story about me turning on the wrong taxi way in Hong Kong (although I
wrote the instructions down and it was verbally verified correct by
the LCP in the right seat). I've been taxing for 34 years and even if
it did happen, (which it did not), it would have been a NON-EVENT.
There were no other airplanes on the taxiway and we were not involved
with crossing any runways or creating a traffic conflict. He CREATED
the story to fail me. He created even more stories that n ight AFTER
my debriefing was finished in order to solidify his position in his
report - which was written in Korean. I have no doubt he would have
created more if needed. He harassed me from the minute I got into the
cockpit in Incheon airport with questions (I had taken the oral less
than 24 hours earlier - the calendar day prior) and even on several
occasions commanded that I take certain action during the flight which
I can't find in any book anywhere. I have been surprised on every KAL
flight with something new and different so I took it all in stride
hoping that at the end of the day he would still be reasonable and I
would become a Korean Air pilot. I maintained my compos ure and
temperament until the end of the check ride debriefing following the
two fligh ts. At the end of the day I was mistaken. Reason and sanity
did not prevail.
CASA Hwang intentionally and selectively neglected standard
procedures. He had total disregard for cockpit security by freely
opening and closing the cockpit door in flight without following the
established procedures in the FOM. He did not follow the security
procedures briefed by me during the Joint Briefing. He also said we
didn't have to put on our oxygen masks when going to the bathroom even
though we were at FL 360. He said we could eat at the same time
(which I didn't), anyway, you get the picture. He followed the rules
HE wanted to follow and disregarded those that didn't suit him. He
violated MANY Korean Air procedures .. and then he had the nerve to
grade ME poorly.
He fabricated the facts - blatantly lied, and even added things to my
check ride form after he left the room. OE Chief Pilot Captain Kang
met with me two days later and read to me t he new items. For
instance, I couldn't believe that CASA Hwang had added that I didn't
do one of the checklists. Absolutely incredible! He had not
mentioned tha t to me on the day of the check ride. I know for a fact
that I called for every checklist. (I did call for the climb
checklist 1000' too early passing transition altitude (9000' and
climbing at 2500'/min out of Hong Kong ), but it was NOT forgotten. I
guess he must have realized that there wasn't enough bad stuff on the
original evaluation to justify failing me so he just added some more
lies. I couldn't read the form since it was in Korean. It wouldn't
matter anyway. I asked both CASA Captain Hwang and OE Chief Pilot
Captain Kan g for the voice tapes from the aircraft (if available), and
Hong Kong ground control. They refused.
CASA Hwang summed it up best in the debriefing following my check
ride. After I had objec ted to his statements that had no basis of
truth he said: "They are true! I am CASA". Spoken loudly as if he
were GOD.
I am sending this report to you so you can hear it from me personally
instead of the "spin" that will surely be put on their version of the
truth by CASA and Kor ean Air. I doubt that Korean Air Management will
ever hear my version. I have no doubt that they will simply repeat
their standard answer to those that ask. Their standard answer is
what Korean Air said about the previous classes poor success rate when
we said we were concerned they said "they were not qualified" and "did
not live up to Korean Air Standards". I don't understand why they
behave in this manner! Why would they fail almost everyone going
through a program? I won't go into politics and the potential labor
issues that surround the parking of the new B-777 aircraft while
foreign pilo ts are being trained - instead of Korean pilots. Parking
airplanes carries a lot of leverage and sends a strong message for
those that are listening.
(continued)
OFFICIAL and/or KOREAN AIR.
To: ALL PILOT APPLICANTS; KOREAN AIR MANA GEMENT; KOREAN AIR
FOREIGN CAPTAINS
From: Captain **named removed**
This report is 8 pages long. It is submitted to inform you of the
corruptio n involving B-777 `training' by Korean Air and/or a CASA
government official. Please advise all B-777 pilot applicants to
Korean Air that they have a very poor chance of passing a Korean Air
check ride causing a blemish on their professional record.
Korean Air B-777 Dec 3, 2007 training class.
As of April, 2008 the final pass/fail results for our class is:
There is only one pilot that passed his CASA check ride. Only one
pilot remains employed out of six (6) that started in the Dec 3, 2007
B-777 class at Korean Air! Two members of our class had thousands of
previous hours flying the B-777 (they were NOT newly rated) and the
rest of us were highly qualified, but newly rated&n bsp;B-777 Captains.
Every one of us passed ALL of our other Korean Air check rides and
oral examinations and recommendation ride. We passed everything
except for the final CASA check ride. Neither of the previously rated
B-777 pilots passed their check ride. The only one that passed was
newly rated and had been a B-737 Captain. (More background
information regarding my qualifications and flying experience is
outlined below.) The statistics presented in this repo rt should be
very revealing, especially if you consider the fact that most of the
class previous to ours didn't succeed in making it through their check
rides either. I understand that the same CASA inspector conducted
their check rides as well. And the class before that - most of their
pilots failed. For the last three classes in a row, CASA and/or
Korean Air failed all of the pilots except for one or two. Korean Air
refused to give me any details on the exact failure rate and told my
class that those pilots had failed because they lied on their resumes.
That is not consistent with the story that I heard from a very
reliable source or the way myself and others in my class have been
treated. Statistically, anyone should be able to see that s omething
is very wrong with this process! It is devastating to the pilots that
have invested so much of their time, money and professional reputation
to pursue a job at Korean Air. My intent in this report is to inform
new applicants of the situation at Korean Air before you throw away
your time and money. I also must set the record straight to protect
my professional reputation. I am telling you this so you can hear it
from me personally instead of the "spin" that will surely be put on
the real truth by CASA and Korean Air management. I have no doubt
that they will simply say `[we] were not qualified' and/or did not
live up to Korean Air Standards or didn't follow the POM/FOM. It is
not true! Do not believe it. Here is why:
My credentials: I passed the Korean Air Law Test, the Korean Air Oral
Exam, the Korean Air simulator check ride, the Korean Air ETOPS check
ride, the recommendation ride and the CASA oral exam. I have never
faile d a check ride in 34 years of flying. I starting flying Gliders
in 1974 and was flying C-130's in the U.S. Air Force by 1976. I have
flown for 34 years without accidents, incidents or any violations. I
have received awards for flight safety including the Delta Air Lines
2005 Safety Award. I have been an instructor with thous ands of hours
of instructor time and I have been a Line Check Pilot. I have more
than 15,000 hours of total flying experience. I have FAA ratings on
the B-777; B-767; B-757; MD88; and L-382 (C-130). I am a graduate of
one of the hardest academic schools in the world, the United States
Air Force Academy. I was employed at Delta Air Lines, Inc. for over
21 years and have flown as Captain for 16 years (including Air Force).
New Hire Status: When Korean Air offered me a conditional job based
upon obtaining the B-777 rating at my own expense, I paid for and
received the B-777 rating from Boeing / Alteon in Seattle , Washington
, USA . I passed all oral examinations and rating rides in the
simulator at Boeing/Alteon in Seattle , Washington . Although it was
a new type rating, I was highly qualified and have been a Captain on
the B-767/ 757 for eight years and have over 7,000 hours of PIC time
at Delta (much more if you include Air Force time). I started ground
school class with Korean Air in Seoul , Korea on December 3, 2007 and
started my Operational Experience (OE) training on February 11th 2008.
"No Notes" and Negative Training: As of March 25, 2008 I have flown 8
trips (16 sectors/legs) with 5 instructors. I have had so many
instructors because I requested an instructor change after the first
four legs and apparently they could not regain continuity in
scheduling with any other instructor. It was necessary for me to
request a replacement of the first instructor and here is why: He
spoke very poor English at best. I just couldn't understand him. It
could have been his frustration in his inability to speak English that
caused him to communicate with me by actually yelling at me, insulting
me and belittling me. He chastised and berated me for not knowing
all HIS flight techniques that are being taught as procedures. I only
understood a small percentage of what he said although his favorite
line was "Do you understand!!?" in a booming voice. No, I didn't
understand. However, I did understand him when he said he couldn't
believe that I had been a Captain for a major airline. Others in my
class complained repeatedly of similar disrespectful comments and
treatment. My final decision to change instructors was made when he
told me I could no longer refer to any of my written notes. He
threatened to have me fired if I referenced them again. He threatened
me with termination for doing what I have always done for 34 years!
Since I had just started my Operational Experience (OE) and since so
many others had been terminated, I had to consider his comment to be a
viable threat. He was a Korean A ir Line Check Pilot (LCP). His
unreasonable requirement included my not being able to use the route
study notes that I had written down from the required viewing of the
audio visual route and airport videos (AV Packs). This was a double
standard because he constantly referred to his own notes for
frequencies, PA's etc., etc.. EVERYONE I have ever talked to and
flown with at Korean Air Lines has told me they used their notes to
learn from, fly with, and to survive the arduous memory requirements
of Korean Air training. I have used personal flight notes for 34
years starting in gliders with a knee board to write notes while
flying. T he absurdity of his `no notes' concept is - if they wanted
us to memorize everything, then why do we even have electronic
checklists, POM, FOM and PA guides or even the `Airport Analysis
Charts' in the cockpit? Those first four legs (sectors) of my OE were
totally wasted in negative training. At its worst, it was pure
harassment. At its best, every ride was treated as a check ride. It
was constant ridicule with very little instruction. It certainly was
NOT western style train ing. I knew I would not survive the OE with
this instructor so my only choice was to request an instructor change.
It was a difficult decision to make because I had been told of the
potential dire conseque nces of requesting an instructor change (due to
the `losing face' issue). That difficult choice was only made after a
lot of consultation. I consulted with Foreign Captain "Advisor to
Line Operations", Al Makdisi. He told me not to use my notes. I also
consulted with Tom Divine, "Advisor Flight Standards and Training" and
many other line pilots.
Each new instructor taught me his own techniques and called them
Korean Air procedures. I complied and faithfully followed those
procedures and documented all the changes in a script that I sent via
email with multiple updates to many other pilots who were starting
training class at Korean Air Lines in order to assist them in getting
a head start before their OE. After studying for months, I k new the
content of the FOM/POM but was not aware of its interpretation or its
application until I was almost finished with my OE since each new
instructor `inspired' constant changes to the techniques and "the
script". Even on my check ride.
The final Check ride:
03/25/08: I received my CASA Check ride by CASA Captain Hwang Sa Sik
#01411234. He is a former senior Korean Air Captain.
Cap tain Choi Mu Yeol #9005765 was the LCP in the right seat acting as
First officer who was worried for his job. He did not support me
throughout the flight or in the debriefing because he would certainly
fail his next check ride if he spoke on my behalf. He therefore
remained silent while CASA Captain Hwang talked. He apologized to me
for not supporting me after CASA Hwang departed.
I contend that my check ride result was predetermined long before I
left the ground. It was a hoax and a farce. The results had nothing
to do with my perfor mance. CASA Captain Hwang lied about the events.
He fabricated the reasons for failing me on my c heck ride which I
will discuss later in this report. As far as I am concerned I passed
in every department. I have never failed a check ride in my life and
this was no exception. I admit there were a few debriefing items
(because it is impossible to do all Korean techniques), but absolutely
nothing was unsafe and my landings we picture perfect smooth landings
with cross winds. It is obvious that Captain Hwang, SA-SIK a CASA
government official, is intentionally failing foreign B-777 pilots on
their check rides. He either has a personal agenda or is being
instructed to fail us by someone at K orean Air. I think he is failing
foreign pilots because he was a former Korean Air Captain himself. He
either has a `bone to pick' with Korean Air due to possible forced
early retirement or is helping his union pilot friends at Korean Air
by keeping the B-7 77's grounded without foreign captains to fly them.
Maybe he is just trying to ensure Korean Captains upgrade faster than
Foreign Captains. I don't know which answer is correct, but I would
bet my career on the fact that the failure rate of domestic Korean
Captains is nowhere close to the dismal failure rate of foreign
Captains. I think Cap tain Hwang is intentionally countering the
Korean Air's President Jong-Hee Lee's push to hire more foreign
Captains. His dishonorable actions are both personal and political
and foreign Captains are being caught in the middle as victims who
spent precious time and money pursuing an unachievable dream with
potentially dire consequences to their professional reputation. The
check ride was a hoax and a farce. Korean Air is lending credibility
to this farce by terminating the employment of the foreign Captains
after not passing the CASA check ride. This treatment of Foreign
Captains does not appear to be happ ening as often on any other fleet.
Everyone else (in my class) on all EXC EPT the B-777 has passed their
check ride (They probably had other CASA officials as the check
pilot). Don't let Korean Air tell you it was the qualifications of
our B-777 class. All except one in our class were OVER QUALIFIED and
at least as qualified as other foreign Captains on the other fleets
who passed their check rides.
Additional details of the check ride:
Prior to the check ride I had not been given any time for route study
since my or al was less than 24 hours prior to flight. After passing
my oral with a high score, CASA Capt Hwang requested my log book. He
expressed that he wanted to confirm my hours. I told him I did not
have my pilot log book in Korea (except for the Korean Air log book I
had started) and offered to give him a letter the following day from
Delta A ir Lines, my former employer, which gave a break down of my
flight time.
On the morning of my check ride I showed up 3 hours prior to push back
time for route study. Captain Choi, the LCP, showed up VERY late and
did not even know a check ride had been scheduled. I was frantic and
only had 15 minutes to brief him before going to the aircraft for the
`Joint Briefing'.
CASA Capt Hwang met us at the aircraft and requested my OE training
record upon arrival. I also presented him with the copy of the letter
from Delta Air Lines. (Early into the flight to Hong Kong , he
actually took my OE training record from me and then proceeded to
reference the FOM as he started writing. Apparently he needed help
from the FOM and my OE training record in developing his reasons for
failing me. It was too early in the check ride to start writing
because at that point, nothing had happened.) It would be impossible
for anyone to maintain an objective and neutral opinion after reading
anyone's OE training record. He is human and would become biased to
look for past weaknesses - even if he saw you do everything right on
your check ride. This biased process would never be allowed in most
ICAO nations.
At the end of a very long day, according to CASA Captain HWANG SA SIK,
a previous 30 year Korean Air Captain, I failed my check ride. I do
not accept his appraisal and am insulted by his masquerade of
fairness. His business card has the audacity to display "Trust
Builder" in its title. This CASA official lied and exaggerated events
regarding many of the events of my flight. Because of this action he
is corrupt and is involved in an unknown personal agen da. Why did he
do this? Maybe he was forced to retire from Korean Air at an early
age and this is a grudge. Maybe he is still sympathetic to the union
activities at Korean Air. Since everyone else on all the other fleets
passed their check ride, the results of the B-777 are too unusual and
suspicious to ignore. Statistically, if the check ride was a fair and
unbiased evaluation, it would be impossible that most Foreign Captains
fail the check ride from the same CASA Hwang. Grounding the B-777's
because there are not enough pilots to fly them is a more likely
scenario and certain to make a statement. CASA Hwang graded me on
techniques that he insisted were procedures. I will go into the
details later in this report. As you know, there are no more second
chances after your Operational Experience (OE) 12 + 4 sectors. There
are no more training rides given and since there is only one CASA
pilot giving the check rides on this aircraft, chances of a successful
recheck would be infinitesimally small. Based on Korean Air past
practice, most pilots have been fired after failing the check ride and
attending the obligatory/compulsory meeting. Excell ent pilots have
been cheated by CASA and KOREAN Air and sent home after 4 months of
extremely hard work. Needless to say, I was angry at the result but
not shocked! I knew the chances of success were slim based on the
statistical results of the previous two B-777 classes. You shouldn't
expect to pass if statistically only one in your class will make the
grade. However, I have never failed a check ride in my 30 years of
flying and in my opinion; this should have been no exception. I will
admit it wasn't perfect by Korea Air Standards, but, as all of you
know from your own experience, how could it be? Many standards are an
unknown moving target. For instance, have you seen check ride
criteria from CASA? Does it exist? If it does exist, does it live up
to the farcical written English standard of the CASA Korean Air Law
test? Could it be read and understood by the person taking the check
ride? No standards were briefed to me by CASA and he cert ainly did
not live up to mine. The pilot world should know of this corruption
before wasting their time and effort in Korea .
In the spirit of trying to do my best, I tried to brief endlessly and
never stopped saying "check" in meaningless fashion. In the end it
didn't count because CASA says I failed and that is all that matters
in Korea . There were no safety issues on my check ride, although
according to CASA h e tried very hard to create some by making up a
story about me turning on the wrong taxi way in Hong Kong (although I
wrote the instructions down and it was verbally verified correct by
the LCP in the right seat). I've been taxing for 34 years and even if
it did happen, (which it did not), it would have been a NON-EVENT.
There were no other airplanes on the taxiway and we were not involved
with crossing any runways or creating a traffic conflict. He CREATED
the story to fail me. He created even more stories that n ight AFTER
my debriefing was finished in order to solidify his position in his
report - which was written in Korean. I have no doubt he would have
created more if needed. He harassed me from the minute I got into the
cockpit in Incheon airport with questions (I had taken the oral less
than 24 hours earlier - the calendar day prior) and even on several
occasions commanded that I take certain action during the flight which
I can't find in any book anywhere. I have been surprised on every KAL
flight with something new and different so I took it all in stride
hoping that at the end of the day he would still be reasonable and I
would become a Korean Air pilot. I maintained my compos ure and
temperament until the end of the check ride debriefing following the
two fligh ts. At the end of the day I was mistaken. Reason and sanity
did not prevail.
CASA Hwang intentionally and selectively neglected standard
procedures. He had total disregard for cockpit security by freely
opening and closing the cockpit door in flight without following the
established procedures in the FOM. He did not follow the security
procedures briefed by me during the Joint Briefing. He also said we
didn't have to put on our oxygen masks when going to the bathroom even
though we were at FL 360. He said we could eat at the same time
(which I didn't), anyway, you get the picture. He followed the rules
HE wanted to follow and disregarded those that didn't suit him. He
violated MANY Korean Air procedures .. and then he had the nerve to
grade ME poorly.
He fabricated the facts - blatantly lied, and even added things to my
check ride form after he left the room. OE Chief Pilot Captain Kang
met with me two days later and read to me t he new items. For
instance, I couldn't believe that CASA Hwang had added that I didn't
do one of the checklists. Absolutely incredible! He had not
mentioned tha t to me on the day of the check ride. I know for a fact
that I called for every checklist. (I did call for the climb
checklist 1000' too early passing transition altitude (9000' and
climbing at 2500'/min out of Hong Kong ), but it was NOT forgotten. I
guess he must have realized that there wasn't enough bad stuff on the
original evaluation to justify failing me so he just added some more
lies. I couldn't read the form since it was in Korean. It wouldn't
matter anyway. I asked both CASA Captain Hwang and OE Chief Pilot
Captain Kan g for the voice tapes from the aircraft (if available), and
Hong Kong ground control. They refused.
CASA Hwang summed it up best in the debriefing following my check
ride. After I had objec ted to his statements that had no basis of
truth he said: "They are true! I am CASA". Spoken loudly as if he
were GOD.
I am sending this report to you so you can hear it from me personally
instead of the "spin" that will surely be put on their version of the
truth by CASA and Kor ean Air. I doubt that Korean Air Management will
ever hear my version. I have no doubt that they will simply repeat
their standard answer to those that ask. Their standard answer is
what Korean Air said about the previous classes poor success rate when
we said we were concerned they said "they were not qualified" and "did
not live up to Korean Air Standards". I don't understand why they
behave in this manner! Why would they fail almost everyone going
through a program? I won't go into politics and the potential labor
issues that surround the parking of the new B-777 aircraft while
foreign pilo ts are being trained - instead of Korean pilots. Parking
airplanes carries a lot of leverage and sends a strong message for
those that are listening.
(continued)