San Francisco plane crash: TV station apologises for broadcasting fake racially offensive pilot names Paul Cheung, president of the Asian American Journalists Association, released a statement saying KTVU's reporting of the names was "not only wrong, but grossly offensive." The phoney names caricatured Asian names, said Cheung, who also is interactive and graphics editor for The Associated Press. "We heard this person verify the information without questioning who they were and then rushed the names on our noon newscast," the station said. The NTSB also apologised and said a summer intern "acted outside the scope of his authority" when he erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew. "Appropriate actions will be taken to ensure that such a serious error is not repeated," the NTSB said in a statement. Neither the station nor the NTSB commented on where the names originated.