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PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY: Warners
(Midland) plc, Bourne, Lincs. UKThe average sale for the period
Jan - Dec 2016 was 31,
copies monthlyCraig West
Editor
Barry Woods-Turner
News Editor
James Ronayne
Assistant Editor
Andy Martin
Contributing Editor
Nigel Price
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Steve Donovan
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Sub-EditorsCOVER: A CityJet Avro RJ85 touches
down at Paris/Charles de Gaulle.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/MATTHIEU DOUHAIRETHIS PHOTO: An Air
Canada Airbus A320.
AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/
MATHIEU POULIOTA commercial aircraft performing a missed approach
at a major airport is hardly a rare occurrence.
London/Heathrow alone averages between 40 and 60 each
month, enough to prompt the occasional sensationalist
tabloid headline on a particularly slow news week but
otherwise simply another routine element in the day-to-day
operations of a busy airfield.
That said, when the reason for a missed approach is that
the aircraft in question was in fact attempting to land on a
parallel taxiway, and one occupied by four fully laden
airliners at the time, the story takes a more sinister turn.
This was the case in San Francisco shortly
before midnight on July 7, when Air Canada
flight 759 inbound from Toronto was forced
to abort its visual approach after mistaking
Taxiway C for Runway 28R.
The incident remains under investigation,
but according to the preliminary report
issued by the US National Transportation
Safety Board (NTSB) on July 17, the
Airbus A320 descended to less than 100ft,
overflying a Boeing 787 and three other
aircraft on the taxiway, before the go-around
was initiated. A published transcript of
the RT from the incident does not reveal
whether the crew had already taken
corrective action by the time air traffic
control ordered a go-around.In audio conversation with air traffic control, posted on
the Live ATC website, the Air Canada pilot can be heard
asking if he’s clear to land, as he can see other lights on
the ‘runway’. Shortly after the controller confirms the
landing clearance, a different voice, believed to be
the pilot of one of the waiting aircraft, sounds the alarm
over the A320’s trajectory: “Where’s this guy going? He’s
on the taxiway!”
While the cause of the San Francisco incident has still
to be determined, this certainly isn’t the first time an
aircraft has attempted to land on the wrong strip of
asphalt. But that flight 759 landed safely
15 minutes later does not disguise the fact
this episode falls very firmly into the
category of a ‘near miss’ – the outcome
could have been very different....
Unfortunately, legal reasons prevent me
from commenting further, but you can be
sure we'll be following this investigation
closely and will report back when we can.Craig West
Editor4 AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2017