ASIANA AIRLINES is denying any wrongdoing in the US Federal Aviation Administration's bribery investigation into fraudulently obtained pilot licences.
According to the South Korean carrier, seven of its co-pilots were interviewed by FAA safety inspector Jack Milabic as part of the inquiry. "He confirmed that there is no wrongdoing by Asiana or the pilots," claims Asiana.
The FAA launched the investigation after Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents reportedly said that several Asiana pilots had illegally acquired commercial air-transport pilots' licences.
It is alleged the co-pilots had neither undergone mandatory check rides or logged the required number of flight hours. The investigation is focusing on the training records of the San Jose-based flying school Wings Over California, where Asiana pilots were trained.
The FBI in March reportedly searched the school and the office of one of its flight instructors, Clifford Hodges. It also searched the Oklahoma City office of FAA official Joseph Escalon, who is alleged to have received thousands of dollars worth of gifts.
The Wall Street Journal says that 29 of the 150 South Korean licence applications filed with the FAA were from Asiana pilots who graduated from Wings Over California and received instructions from Hodges. Asiana says that each of the co-pilots interviewed had more than 1,500h of flying time with the South Korean air force, more than the FAA's minimum 200h requirement for a commercial licence.
Source: Flight International