NTSB fires intern who confirmed fake, racist Asiana names

Well, at least we know somebody got fired. The NTSB intern who confirmed the fake, racist names of the Asiana Flight 214 pilots to KTVU -- which the station went ahead and reported on air -- has been fired: NTSB Intern Fired After KTVU Reported Fake, Racist Names.

It's still not clear where KTVU came up with the names (maybe a bathroom wall?), but according to the National Transportation Safety Board's statement, a summer intern "acted outside the scope of his authority" when he confirmed the fake names in response to KTVU's query.

UPDATE: According to The Desk, the intern in question has been identified as Alexander Fields-Lefkovic, whose job duties as an intern with the NTSB's public affairs office involved routing media inquiries to appropriate parties at the agency -- a job he apparently failed to perform last Friday.

The NTSB apologized and promised that "appropriate actions" would be taken to ensure this wouldn't happen again. Step one: fire this intern's foolish ass. Now, how about you, KTVU?

Asiana Airlines suing KTVU for racist fake name report

(UPDATED) In the aftermath of KTVU's on-air racist fake pilot name prank debacle, Asiana Airlines has announced that it is suing the TV station -- but not the National Transportation Safety Board -- over the incident that "damaged the company's image": Asiana to sue San Francisco TV station over names.

It was an epic, mind-blowing fail. The names, which were presumably plagiarized from a fourth grader's joke book were actually displayed and read aloud on air. KTVU said the names were confirmed by the NTSB. The NTSB blamed a summer intern. KTVU issued not one, but two apologies. I'm hoping multiple people got fired.

And now, the airline has confirmed that it will take legal action against the Oakland TV station for allowing the racially offensive names to get on the air. Asiana claims the gaffe "seriously damaged the reputation of the four pilots and the company." The NTSB, however, is apparently off the hook: