FAA investigates another Air Canada runway mix-up at SFO

The Federal Aviation Authority is investigating why an Air Canada plane ignored repeated orders by an air traffic controller at San Francisco International Airport to abort a landing over the weekend.

Air Canada flight 781 from Montreal was given initial clearance to land but the air traffic controller then gave six orders to ‘go around’ and abort its landing because it believed another plane may still have been on the runway. 

The pilot landed the plane anyway. 

The FAA has launched an investigation into why an Air Canada jet ignored a San Francisco air traffic controller’s repeated order to abort a landing on Sunday evening

Air Traffic Control Transcript 

Controller: Air Canada 781 – go around.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – go around.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – go around.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – go around.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – go around.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – go around.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – tower.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – tower.

Controller: Air Canada 781 – tower.

Air Canada 781: We’re having radio problems here.

Controller: ‘That’s pretty evident’

The Airbus A320 was initially cleared to land on Runway 28R.

The crew acknowledged their clearance as they were about six miles away from the airport.

Shortly afterwards, the Air Canada crew was told six times in 36 seconds to abort the landing and ‘go-around’ after concerns that another plane that had arrived just beforehand would still be on the runway. 

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said that the crew acknowledged the tower’s initial clearance to land but did not respond to the subsequent orders. 

‘The tower controller subsequently instructed the Air Canada crew multiple times to execute a go-around because he was not certain that a preceding arrival would be completely clear of the runway before the Air Canada jet reached the runway threshold,’ Gregor said.

The plane was coming in to land on runway 28R when it was instructed to 'go-around' and abort the landing after a controller feared another plane may still be on the runway

The plane was coming in to land on runway 28R when it was instructed to ‘go-around’ and abort the landing after a controller feared another plane may still be on the runway

A supervisor then used a red light gun to alert the crew to go around. Flashing a light gun is standard protocol when an air crew is not responding to radio instructions.

At 9:26pm, the jet still ended up coming in for a landing – luckily the runway happened to be clear.

The crew never once acknowledged air traffic control’s instructions.

After landing safely, the crew told the tower they had a radio problem.

‘That’s pretty evident!’ the controller said to the pilots over the radio.

‘A radar replay showed the preceding arrival was in fact clear of the runway when the Air Canada jet landed,’ Gregor said. 

Representatives from Air Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Nonetheless, the FAA is now investigating Sunday’s breakdown in communication which is second dangerous incident involving an Air Canada flight at the same airport. 

The plane was coming in for a landing on Runway 28R, seen on the right of this picture, when controllers asked for the crew to abort their landing six times in succession but to no avail

The plane was coming in for a landing on Runway 28R, seen on the right of this picture, when controllers asked for the crew to abort their landing six times in succession but to no avail

In July, another Air Canada plane nearly landed on a crowded taxiway at San Francisco’s airport.

In that instance, the jet came within 59 feet of crash landing onto other planes after the pilot reportedly mistook the taxiway for a runway. 

The jet nearly landed on four planes with hundreds of people on board. 

Federal transportation investigators have been reviewing a probable cause for why it occurred. 

In the meantime, the FAA issued new guidelines for nighttime landings and control tower staffing at San Francisco’s airport.

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