approach were clouds 900 feet broken and winds 260° at 11 knots. An instructor noted, in an overall simulator session evaluation, that the first officer's "control skills and knowledge [were] above standard." The first officer received a "standard" evaluation for his nonprecision VOR approaches. However, the instructor noted that the "altitude management on nonprecision approach [was] somewhat less than desirable." Another instructor noted that the first officer was "somewhat slow to carry out directions." According to Korean Air records, the first officer had passed the Level 3 Pilot English Test but had not attended CRM training.
Korean Air records indicated that the first officer returned from an international trip to the United States on the afternoon of August 2, 1997. He was off-duty on August 3 and flew a round trip domestic flight on August 4, 1997, between 0930 and 1245. The first officer was then off-duty until the accident flight. Safety Board investigators interviewed the first officer's relatives after the accident. They stated that he telephoned his mother about 1700 on August 5 and that "everything seemed routine." Because his family lived in New Zealand, the first officer's relatives could not be specific about his activities before the accident flight.
1.5.3 The Flight Engineer
The flight engineer, age 57, was hired by Korean Air on May 7, 1979. He was previously a navigator in the Republic of Korea Air Force. He obtained his flight engineer's certificate on December 29, 1979, and was qualified on the Boeing 727 and 747 and Airbus A300 airplanes. The flight engineer held a Korean First Class Airman Medical Certificate issued on June 5, 1997. According to company records, the flight engineer had accumulated a total of 13,065 hours of flight time, including 11,088 hours as a flight engineer (1,573 hours of which were as a flight engineer on the 747). Korean Air records also indicated that the flight engineer had flown 165, 120, 77, and 28 hours in the last 90, 60, 30, and 7 days, respectively, before the accident.
The flight engineer's last two route checks were in April 1997. He received an "above standard" evaluation for the first route check and an "excellent" evaluation for the second route check. The flight engineer's last proficiency check was in a Korean Air 747 simulator on March 7, 1997. He received an "above standard" evaluation for the session, and an instructor note stated, "control skills and knowledge are above standard." The flight engineer's crew coordination was also rated as "above standard." According to Korean Air records, the flight engineer passed the Level 3 Pilot English Test and attended CRM training from April 28 to May 1, 1987. A Korean Air official indicated that the flight engineer had never flown to Guam.
The flight engineer had returned to Seoul on August 3, 1997, after completing a 3-day international trip to Anchorage, Alaska, and San Francisco. Although he was off-duty on August 4 and was assumed to have engaged in routine activities at home, the flight engineer's wife and son could not provide Safety Board investigators with details of his activities or sleep patterns before the accident flight.
