That's pretty awful, and yet there won't be any outrage. Why? I'm not sure, but I have noticed that (even on this site), people really only get upset when the racism is directed at African-Americans (and to a lesser extent, Hispanic people). There seems to be a double-standard.

To me, racism against Asian people is just as egregious.

I hadn't even heard that stereotype before, but then, I grew up in an area that doesn't have a lot of Asian-Americans.

I had never heard of this stereotype until a few months ago. When and how did this stereotype emerge? And is it particular to North America? Or do we have this stereotype in Europe too? Obviously, we don't have it in Asia (at least, I've lived in a couple of Asian countries, and I've never heard of it there).

Being European, I'd never heard about this stereotype either. I was a bit sad to realise that it shocked me more because I'd never heard of it.
In my country for example, one current stereotype is that people from Ex-Yougoslavia steal a lot. I've heard it so many times that it doesn't even bother me any more! Quite depressing really.

With regards to the "Asians can't drive" stereotype, I'd just like to point out that, statistically, Asian/Pacific Islanders have the lowest rate of fatal car accidents of any racial group in the US - http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a10.htm

Additionally, men vastly outnumber women in car crashes too, for those who prefer the "women can't drive" stereotype.

The stereotypes are not just racist and sexist; worse yet, they are objectively incorrect.

And in the weeks after the crash, anonymous but trusted sources within the aviation training industry are noting that there have been longstanding deficiencies in Asiana's training program, specifically including pilots who have trouble performing visual approaches.

After I retired from UAL as a Standards Captain on the -400, I got a
job as a simulator instructor working for Alteon (a Boeing subsidiary)
at Asiana. When I first got there, I was shocked and surprised by the
lack of basic piloting skills shown by most of the pilots. It is not a
normal situation with normal progression from new hire, right seat, left
seat taking a decade or two. One big difference is that ex-Military
pilots are given super-seniority and progress to the left seat much
faster. Compared to the US, they also upgrade fairly rapidly because of
the phenomenal growth by all Asian air carriers. By the way, after about
six months at Asiana, I was moved over to KAL and found them to be
identical. The only difference was the color of the uniforms and
airplanes. I worked in Korea for 5 long years and although I found most
of the people to be very pleasant, it is a minefield of a work
environment ... for them and for us expats.

One of the first
things I learned was that the pilots kept a web-site and reported on
every training session. I dont think this was officially sanctioned by
the company, but after one or two simulator periods, a database was
building on me (and everyone else) that told them exactly how I ran the
sessions, what to expect on checks, and what to look out for. For
example; I used to open an aft cargo door at 100 knots to get them to
initiate an RTO and I would brief them on it during the briefing. This
was on the B-737 NG and many of the captains were coming off the 777 or
B744 and they were used to the Master Caution System being inhibited at
80 kts. Well, for the first few days after I started that, EVERYONE
rejected the takeoff. Then, all of a sudden they all got it; and
continued the takeoff (in accordance with their manuals). The word had
gotten out. I figured it was an overall PLUS for the training program.

We
expat instructors were forced upon them after the amount of fatal
accidents (most of the them totally avoidable) over a decade began to be
noticed by the outside world. They were basically given an ultimatum by
the FAA, Transport Canada, and the EU to totally rebuild and rethink
their training program or face being banned from the skies all over the
world. They hired Boeing and Airbus to staff the training centers. KAL
has one center and Asiana has another. When I was there (2003-2008) we
had about 60 expats conducting training KAL and about 40 at Asiana. Most
instructors were from the USA, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand with a
few stuffed in from Europe and Asia. Boeing also operated training
centers in Singapore and China so they did hire some instructors from
there.

This solution has only been partially successful but still
faces ingrained resistance from the Koreans. I lost track of the number
of highly qualified instructors I worked with who were fired because
they tried to enforce normal standards of performance. By normal
standards, I would include being able to master basic tasks like
successfully shoot a visual approach with 10 kt crosswind and the
weather CAVOK. I am not kidding when I tell you that requiring them to
shoot a visual approach struck fear in their hearts ... with good
reason. Like this Asiana crew, it didnt compute that you needed to be a
1000 AGL at 3 miles and your sink rate should be 600-800 Ft/Min. But,
after 5 years, they finally nailed me. I still had to sign my name to
their training and sometimes if I just couldnt pass someone on a check, I
had no choice but to fail them. I usually busted about 3-5 crews a year
and the resistance against me built. I finally failed an extremely
incompetent crew and it turned out he was the a high-ranking captain who
was the Chief Line Check pilot on the fleet I was teaching on. I found
out on my next monthly trip home that KAL was not going to renew my
Visa. The crew I failed was given another check and continued a fly
while talking about how unfair Captain so-and-so was.

Any of you
Boeing glass-cockpit guys will know what I mean when I describe these
events. I gave them a VOR approach with an 15 mile arc from the IAF. By
the way, KAL dictated the profiles for all sessions and we just
administered them. He requested two turns in holding at the IAF to get
set up for the approach. When he finally got his nerve up, he requested
Radar Vectors to final. He could have just said he was ready for the
approach and I would have cleared him to the IAF and then Cleared for
the approach and he could have selected Exit Hold and been on his way.
He was already in LNAV/VNAV PATH. So, I gave him vectors to final with a
30 degree intercept. Of course, he failed to Extend the FAF and he
couldnt understand why it would not intercept the LNAV magenta line when
he punched LNAV and VNAV. He made three approaches and missed
approaches before he figured out that his active waypoint was Hold at
XYZ. Every time he punched LNAV, it would try to go back to the IAF ...
just like it was supposed to do. Since it was a check, I was not allowed
(by their own rules) to offer him any help. That was just one of about
half dozen major errors I documented in his UNSAT paperwork. He also
failed to put in ANY aileron on takeoff with a 30-knot direct crosswind
(again, the weather was dictated by KAL).

This Asiana SFO
accident makes me sick and while I am surprised there are not more, I
expect that there will be many more of the same type accidents in the
future unless some drastic steps are taken. They are already required to
hire a certain percentage of expats to try to ingrain more flying
expertise in them, but more likely, they will eventually be fired too.
One of the best trainees I ever had was a Korean/American (he grew up
and went to school in the USA) who flew C-141s in the USAF. When he got
out, he moved back to Korea and got hired by KAL. I met him when I gave
him some training and a check on the B-737 and of course, he breezed
through the training. I give him annual PCs for a few years and he was
always a good pilot. Then, he got involved with trying to start a pilots
union and when they tired to enforce some sort of duty rigs on
international flights, he was fired after being arrested and JAILED!

The
Koreans are very very bright and smart so I was puzzled by their
inability to fly an airplane well. They would show up on Day 1 of
training (an hour before the scheduled briefing time, in a 3-piece suit,
and shined shoes) with the entire contents of the FCOM and Flight
Manual totally memorized. But, putting that information to actual use
was many times impossible. Crosswind landings are also an unsolvable
puzzle for most of them. I never did figure it out completely, but I
think I did uncover a few clues. Here is my best guess. First off, their
educational system emphasizes ROTE memorization from the first day of
school as little kids. As you know, that is the lowest form of learning
and they act like robots. They are also taught to NEVER challenge
authority and in spite of the flight training heavily emphasizing
CRM/CLR, it still exists either on the surface or very subtly. You just
cant change 3000 years of culture.

The other thing that I think
plays an important role is the fact that there is virtually NO civil
aircraft flying in Korea. Its actually illegal to own a Cessna-152 and
just go learn to fly. Ultra-lights and Powered Hang Gliders are Ok. I
guess they dont trust the people to not start WW III by flying 35 miles
north of Inchon into North Korea. But, they dont get the kids who grew
up flying (and thinking for themselves) and hanging around airports.
They do recruit some kids from college and send then to the US or
Australia and get them their tickets. Generally, I had better experience
with them than with the ex-Military pilots. This was a surprise to me
as I spent years as a Naval Aviator flying fighters after getting my
private in light airplanes. I would get experienced F-4, F-5, F-15, and
F-16 pilots who were actually terrible pilots if they had to hand fly
the airplane. What a shock!

Finally, I'll get off my box and talk
about the total flight hours they claim. I do accept that there are a
few talented and free-thinking pilots that I met and trained in Korea.
Some are still in contact and I consider them friends. They were a joy!
But, they were few and far between and certainly not the norm.

Actually,
this is a worldwide problem involving automation and the auto-flight
concept. Take one of these new first officers that got his ratings in
the US or Australia and came to KAL or Asiana with 225 flight hours.
After takeoff, in accordance with their SOP, he calls for the autopilot
to be engaged after takeoff. How much actual flight time is that? Hardly
one minute. Then he might fly for hours on the autopilot and finally
disengage it (MAYBE?) below 800 ft after the gear was down, flaps
extended and on airspeed (autothrottle). Then he might bring it in to
land. Again, how much real flight time or real experience did he get.
Minutes! Of course, on the 777 or 747, its the same only they get more
inflated logbooks. So, when I hear that a 10,000 hour Korean
captain was vectored in for a 17-mile final and cleared for a visual
approach in CAVOK weather, it raises the hair on the back of my neck.

Here's an interesting one - look up the two words for 'black person' in Urdu/Hindi and check out all the racist Indian/Pakistanis in U.S. and Canada on twitter.

Maybe all this racism wouldn't have happened if the Asians stayed in their own countries rather than invading white countries and reproducing like damn cockroaches. Seriously, go back to where you came from.