Asiana Airlines is planning to sue a TV station that used bogus and racially offensive names for the four pilots of the plane that crash landed in San Francisco, killing three passengers. The airline claims Friday's report on KTVU-TV damaged its reputation.

A presenter, Tori Campbell, read the fake names live on air and then quickly apologised after a commercial break. The report was accompanied by a graphic alongside a photo of the burned-out plane. Video of the report has spread widely across the internet since it was first broadcast.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has also apologised, saying a summer intern erroneously confirmed the names of the flight crew on the doomed July 6th flight.

Asiana has decided to sue KTVU-TV to "strongly respond to its racially discriminatory report" that disparaged Asians, spokeswoman Lee Hyomin said. She said the airline will likely file its lawsuit in a US court.

She added that Asiana has not yet determined whether to launch a similar suit against the NTSB. Neither the station nor the NTSB have confirmed where the names originated.

The four pilots, who underwent questioning by a US and South Korean joint investigation team while in the US, returned to South Korea on Saturday. Officials there plan to conduct separate interviews with them.