Reading this thread reminds me why I don't come on here much anymore. Apart from a large number of armchair experts posting a lot of drivel, it seems the majority have made up their mind this accident was caused by pilot error, and a sizeable majority of them that this is most likely because the crew were all Korean. It may indeed have been pilot error, but until the CVR and FDR have been analysed no one knows what really happened.
Personally I find it pretty unlikely that a speed 18 knots below Vref 16 seconds before impact (plus the resulting high attitude) would have not elicited a reaction from the handling pilot, ie pushing the throttles forward, or failing that a reaction from the pilot in the right-hand seat (who after all was a training captain, who, by job description, is expected, and expects to have to be to be, more vigilant than a line captain). If the relief crew were also on the flight-deck then the idea that they would just sit there and let the operating crew crash the aircraft is even more absurd. I find it highly unlikely that the auto-throttle would have been disconnected, it's standard practice to have it always engaged, and it would have woken up long before impact if those speeds quoted are accurate.
It seems all the "experts" here have it all worked out. As a current B777 skipper, I am very interested in knowing what caused this accident, but, personally, I'll wait for more information before jumping to conclusions. But hey, if it turns out they screwed the pooch (which btw I am not discounting as a possibility), you can all have a good sneer and say you told me so.
Last edited by CAT1; 9th Jul 2013 at 00:01.