Asiana Airline Sues TV News Station for Prank on Crew Names

San Francisco television station KTVU is facing a lawsuit from the airline involved in the July 6 crash because a prank on names "damaged its reputation"

In the wake of the crash of an Asiana airliner that crashed just short of the runway at the San Franciso Airport  KTVU aired a report erroneously identifying the four-person aircrew at the controls.

In what has now become a viral video,  KTVU apparently bit on what is being called a prank. The station aired a news story reportedly identifying the aircrew but unwittingly televised the story featuring fake Asian-sounding names designed to sound like other phrases.

According to Glenn Beck's The Blaze, a prankster notified the National Transportation Safety Board that the crew had been identified. According to reports, a summer intern at NTSB took the information and issued a statement identifying the crew. KTVU reportedly confirmed the story with the intern, not realizing the prank. Two of the crew names were listed as "We-Tu-Low," another as "Sum-Ting Wong."

Three people have now died as a result of the crash.

According to Northwest Cable News:

Asiana has decided to sue KTVU-TV to 'strongly respond to its racially-discriminatory report' that disparaged Asians, Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said. She said the airline will likely file suit in U.S. courts.

She said the report seriously damaged Asiana's reputation. Asiana decided not to sue the NTSB because it said it was the TV station report, not the U.S. federal agency that damaged the airline's reputation. Lee did not elaborate.

While neither the NTSB or KTVU-TV would respond to questions or elaborate where the prank originated from, The Blaze reported Monday they have been contacted by the individual claiming responsibility.