The transportation ministry said Thursday it has called in Korean Air Lines Co. vice president Cho Hyun-ah for questioning this week over the “nut rage” incident that has triggered public uproar.
It said Cho has been told to appear at 10 a.m. Friday at the aviation safety inspectors’ office to answer questions related to her actions on a flight that resulted in the chief purser being forced to disembark from the plane. The office is located at Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport.
“There are conflicting testimonies from the 10 crew members who were on the plane and interviewed by authorities, so the matter needs to be sorted out,” a ministry official said.
The incident involved the 40-year-old Cho, the eldest daughter of Korean Air chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho, taking issue with a cabin crew member who allegedly failed to follow the right procedure for serving nuts. The chief purser was then ordered off the plane for improper management of the crew and not knowing the correct procedure himself. South Korea’s largest full-service airline did confirm that Cho raised her voice when chastising the crew.
Cho has since tendered her resignation as vice president of flight services after her action triggered widespread public condemnation and demands that she be punished.
The official said Cho has been strongly urged to appear at the instructed time after Korean Air initially expressed reservations about the vice president showing up personally, although it did promise to cooperate fully with the probe. Failure to abide could result in a 5 million won (US$4,550) fine.
He added that Korean Air has been asked to submit the names of passengers on the flight so they can be questioned as well. There was one other passenger in the first class area of the Airbus A380 passenger jet, as well as others seated in nearby coach seats who could have heard what unfolded between Cho and the crew.
The authorities said it would help the probe if people came forward to be interviewed.
Separately, the ministry said it is trying to obtain records of the Korean Air jet’s movements at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to better grasp what happened, including radio communication between the Korean Air pilot and the airport control tower.
The flight, already taxiing, returned to the gate to allow the purser to disembark, causing a delay in the departure time of the plane carrying 250 passengers bound for Incheon International Airport (IIA).
Officials said the return to the gate delayed departure by 16 minutes, with the plane arriving 11 minutes behind schedule at IIA.
The ministry said that if Cho did cause a commotion and threatened the crew, such actions could be in violation of the country’s aviation law and rules governing aircraft security.
“If the law was broken, firm action will be taken against the offender,” it said.
Prosecution investigators later Thursday raided Korean Air’s headquarters in western Seoul and its offices at IIA to collect any evidence pertinent to the case. The prosecution started its probe after a local civic group filed a petition against Cho, accusing her of breaking the law by causing a disturbance. Violating aviation security rules can result in fines or, in serious cases, the perpetrator can face criminal charges.
Local aviation sources said that while Korean Air claimed Cho took the steps to correct problems with the flight service, she may have overstepped her authority by ordering the plane back to the gate and forcing the purser to leave. (Yonhap)
