Max talks first about the fatal crash of N57HP, a HondaJet, which crashed earlier this week during takeoff from Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ. The aircraft reached 133 knots on the runway, well above the rotation speed of 115 knots, before rejecting its takeoff. It was still doing 89 knots, when it crossed the departure end of the runway. It continued for another 700 feet, hitting a vehicle on a road. Four people in the jet and the driver of the vehicle died. One person on the jet survived with severe burns. Max talked about recent causes of jet takeoff accidents, including failure to remove gust locks, failure to properly set flaps, leaving the parking brake on, and making an improper decision to not continue the takeoff after V1, which Max calculated as 110 knots for this flight.
Max also talked with Rob Mark about a near-miss incident at Chicago O’Hare involving Envoy Flight 3936, an Embraer 170. The incident took place on September 25th, when the aircraft was cleared to land on Runway 10 Center but mistakenly landed on Runway 10 Left instead. This misalignment was the result of multiple small errors—a classic “Swiss cheese” moment where various lapses align to create a potentially dangerous situation.
Rob explains that the flight crew initially planned for a different runway based on the weather at O’Hare, leading to multiple runway reassignments as they approached the airport. They eventually prepared for Runway 10 Center, but encountered a problem tuning in the ILS for that runway. Despite attempts to manually input the frequency, they couldn’t get it to work. However, they didn’t inform air traffic control (ATC) of this issue, possibly due to the busy airspace environment and their assumption that a visual approach would suffice.
ATC, on their part, also didn’t catch the misalignment. Although they noticed the crew was veering off course, they didn’t alert them or reroute the flight. This mutual silence allowed the flight to land on the incorrect runway, with neither party stepping in to prevent the error. Rob points out that Runways 10 Center and 10 Left are only 1,300 feet apart, making it relatively easy to confuse the two, especially in a complex airport like O’Hare with multiple parallel runways.
Interestingly, shortly after this incident, the FAA implemented a software update for O’Hare’s radar system. This new software is designed to alert controllers if an aircraft aligns with the wrong runway, aiming to prevent future mistakes like this. Both Max and Rob agree that such system improvements are valuable, but they stress that clear communication between pilots and controllers remains crucial to safety. They discuss how pilots, when overloaded with information or busy airspace, may withhold minor issues from ATC, inadvertently increasing risk.
Ultimately, Max and Rob highlight that this incident underscores the need for vigilance and transparency in aviation. Although no one was harmed, the event serves as a reminder of how easily minor missteps can compound, creating hazardous situations.
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Mentioned on the Show
Envoy 3936 wrong runway incident at Chicago O’Hare
HondaJet N57HP fatal runway overrun at Mesa, AZ
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