asiana
Good points. Can those familiar with SFO tell us whether "slam dunk" visual approaches are common there? I can see how a pilot making his first SFO landing after a long flight, concerned with being evaluated, possibly not having practiced such g/s US approaches in the sim, could be caught out by the factors you mentioned.
Flight International had a lengthy article years ago about Asian culture. It's possible that played a role here too.
We'll see.