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NTSB Chairman Urges Airlines to Change Runway Stopping Calculations in Wake of Chicago Midway Overrun Accident
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Mark V. Rosenker is urging airlines to voluntarily adopt changes in the way they calculate stopping distances on contaminated runways, in accordance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) guidance issued in response to an urgent NTSB recommendation.
On December 8, 2005, Southwest Airlines flight 1248, a Boeing 737-7H4, landed on runway 31C at Chicago Midway Airport during a snow storm. The aircraft failed to stop on the runway, rolling through a blast fence and perimeter fence and coming to rest on a roadway after striking two vehicles. A 6-year-old boy in one of the automobiles was killed.
While approaching Chicago on a flight from Baltimore, the pilots used an on-board laptop performance computer (OPC) to calculate expected landing performance. Information entered into the computer included expected landing runway, wind speed and direction, airplane gross weight at touchdown, and reported runway braking action. The OPC then calculated the stopping margin. Depending on whether WET-FAIR or WET-POOR conditions were input, the computer calculated remaining runway after stopping at either 560 feet or 30 feet.
As a result of the accident, on January 27, 2006, the Safety Board urged the Federal Aviation Administration to prohibit airlines from using credit for the use of thrust reversers when calculating stopping distances on contaminated runways.
Contact an Aviation Attorney near you to find out more about your legal rights.
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