Posted on 12/15/2005 6:50:13 PM PST by rawhide
CHICAGO - A jetliner that skidded off a landing strip and into a city street needed about 800 more feet of runway to come to a safe stop, federal investigators said Thursday. The Southwest Airlines jet crushed a car, killing a 6-year-old boy, after it skidded off a 6,500-foot runway and crashed through a fence at Midway International Airport earlier this month.
A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the airplane touched down with about 4,500 feet of runway remaining, but snowy conditions and other factors meant the plane ideally needed about 5,300 feet of runway, according to a report released Thursday.
The Southwest Airlines jet crushed a car, killing a 6-year-old boy, after it skidded off a 6,500-foot runway and crashed through a fence at Midway International Airport earlier this month.A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board shows the airplane touched down with about 4,500 feet of runway remaining, but snowy conditions and other factors meant the plane ideally needed about 5,300 feet of runway, according to a report released Thursday.
Jim Hall, a former NTSB chairman not involved in the investigation, said the pilots landed the plane too late.
"You can come to the conclusion that the plane landed long. It touched down too far down the runway," he said.
The jet's actual stopping distance was about 5,000 feet, the NTSB report said. A tail wind contributed to the accident because it caused the plane to land faster than normal, according to the report.
Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Beth Harbin declined comment on the NTSB's findings. ...(continued below)
Chicago aviation officials have said the FAA has determined there is not enough room at the end of Midway's airstrips to install beds of crushable concrete that can slow an aircraft if it overshoots a runway.
Midway is among nearly 300 commercial airports in the U.S. that don't have adequate runway buffers. A recently passed federal law requires the airfields to extend runway barriers by 2015 or build the concrete beds.
City Department of Aviation officials did not immediately return a call for comment Thursday about the NTSB report.
Investigators said last week that the plane's reverse thrusters, which should have slowed the jetliner, didn't immediately kick in when the pilots tried to deploy them.
The captain also told investigators that the plane didn't decelerate normally so he applied the brakes manually. When the first officer noticed the problem, he moved his seat forward to apply maximum braking, the NTSB said in its report.
Both crew members said they applied maximum pressure to the brakes as the airplane skidded off the runway and came to a stop in the street.
Air traffic controllers said the runway's conditions were fair for most of the runway and poor at the end, according to the NTSB.
Joshua Woods of Leroy, Ind., who was killed in the accident, was buried Wednesday. It was the first fatal crash in Southwest's 35-year history.
A law firm representing the boy's family said in a statement Thursday that the NTSB findings were an "unequivocal statement" that the plane should not have landed, and the crew was "not prepared for the landing."
Attorney Ronald Stearney Jr. has said the family plans to sue.
Also--Maintain thy airspeed, lest the ground rise up and smite thee...
Sounds like someone's adding is a little off. They say they need longer runways but was not the runway 6500 ft. Me thinks something is not adding up. What happened to the other 2000 ft of runway. It vanish like a fart in the wind?
The pilot has already reported that the thrust reversers didn't engage.
A 737 can land in 3500 feet, depending upon weight, wind and runway conditions. A 9 knot tailwind would add 1080 feet, and poor braking could add another 1200 feet to landing distance. At Midway you have to get it ALL right the first time. If you land long, there more than most airports, you need to go-around for another approach.
Have you ever flown into Midway? The approach is pretty scary.
Don't forget:
-gas when you're on fire.
"...the airplane touched down with about 4,500 feet of runway remaining..."
I bet the plane going through the fence provided an important clue.
That's right they landed long. If the touchdown zone markings were not obscurred by snow; they would realize it, and idealy go-around.
Why do airports with short runways like Midway land airplanes with the wind? Wouldn't it make sense to land against the wind to have a slower SOG?
I'll be Mayor Daily is involved. With his pathetic closure of Chicago Meigs field, he can't keep his hands off aviation.
He needs to learn his place. Either be mayor of a city, or become secretary of transportation. He's out of his territory.
I don't blame the family for wanting compensation for their horrific loss, but their lawyer is a teeny bit anxious, isn't he?
It was reported that to switch the runway to land with a headwind would have required shutting down a runway in use at O'Hare to the North.
Midway, Dallas Love, Houston Hobby, Washington National; should all have been shutdown when the new airports were built!
"NTSB: Plane at Midway Needed More Runway"
Now here's another story stating the obvious!
Right, and the Titanic needed more open ocean between it and the iceberg.
Can I add fuel you just dumped.
Your liberalism is showing. The Airport is Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
“Both crew members said they applied maximum pressure to the brakes as the airplane skidded off the runway and came to a stop in the street”
How much pressure does one apply when already skidding on snow and ice?
I suspect the pilots are under considerable pressure to meet schedules. I doubt a decision to divert or go around would go over well in the pilots lounge back at home base. I don’t recall any mention about runway visibility range, but I suspect visibility wasn’t too great either on the roll out, or approach, and as already mentioned, I doubt the runway marking were visible.
I guess it’s true, there are old pilots, and bold pilots, but no old bold pilots.
BTW, a similar accident occurred at Burbank, CA, without the weather component. I have little doubt another similar accident will occur at Burbank, sooner or later, or perhaps a departure accident during the noise abatement take-off, when the aircraft is hanging on the engines on the verge of a stall until reaching 1000’ AGL.
Thanks. I guess that makes sense. Hindsight is 20-20, and I'm sure there were lots of airplanes that didn't run the red light at W 55th and S Central.
You don't really expect the Washington elite to give up THEIR airport, do you? :)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.