Air Canada faces review after close calls on runway

Airline safety investigated after two near disasters in San Francisco, but expert asks why ‘pilot fatigue issues in Canada’ not being probed

SAN FRANCISCO— Following two alarming close calls at San Francisco International Airport last year, Air Canada has agreed to an immediate safety review of its entire operations, including increased pilot training and a closer look at the airline’s arrivals and departures at SFO.

The airline’s agreement — worked out with Transport Canada — comes amid a spike in incidents involving other airlines during takeoffs and landings at SFO. The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating a December 2016 incident where a jet almost pulled onto a runway in front of a departing jet, as well as a February 2017 incident where a plane aborted a landing when it learned another commercial jet was on the runway.

But the sweeping Air Canada reviews show how serious the two SFO incidents with the airline were, including one which aviation experts have said could have caused one of the deadliest aviation disasters ever.

“Many airlines have gone through this type of scrutiny after a major problem,” said Ross Aimer, a retired United Airlines pilot and CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, who has followed the SFO mishaps.

“These are all good and welcomed mea- sures. However, I don’t see a crucial part, which is a look at pilot fatigue issues in Canada.”

Aimer said he believes fatigue played a role in both Air Canada incidents at SFO.

In July, an Air Canada jet nearly landed on four passenger jets awaiting takeoff after the flight crew mistook a crowded taxiway for its intended runway.

In October, an Air Canada jet ignored repeated orders from the tower to abort its landing because air traffic controllers feared a different plane was still on the runway. The Air Canada plane landed safely, and later explained that it was having problems with its radio.

“Transport Canada continues to work with Air Canada as a result of these incidents,” said Transport Canada spokesperson Marie-Anyk Côté. “To date, the department is satisfied with the review conducted by Air Canada of their Airbus program as well as the corrective action plan they have put in place to address identified issues.”

The measures include: Conducting an immediate safety review of Air Canada’s operations;

Reducing intervals between pilot training and evaluation from eight to six months for the next three years;

Conducting four inflight surveillance flights into and out of SFO;

Appointing a technical adviser to observe the SFO investigations;

Enhancing surveillance activities on the airline’s Airbus fleet and;

Air Canada conducting a complete review of its operations.

Air Canada did not respond to a request for comment. Côté said its operations audit is ongoing.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesperson Ian Gregor said his agency is “satisfied with the actions (Air Canada and Transport Canada) have taken.”

Last week, an Aeromexico plane lined up to the wrong runway, where a Virgin America plane was waiting to depart. That plane dropped to about 76 metres (250 feet) and was about 1 kilometre from the start of the runway before aborting the landing and flying over the other aircraft, according to data reviewed by this news agency.

The NTSB is also investigating a Feb. 15 incident at SFO, during which Compass Airlines Flight 6081 had been cleared to land on the same runway where a Virgin America plane had been cleared to wait for takeoff. The Airport Surface Detection System radar alerted the tower of the mistake and the Compass flight aborted its landing.

Federal investigators are also probing a runway incident on Dec. 14, 2016 at SFO when a SkyWest Airlines flight entered the runway as another jet taking off raced past, according to the NTSB.