Pilots were over-tired at time of near-miss

WASHINGTON • Investigators probing a near-disaster last year when an Air Canada jetliner nearly landed on top of at least one other plane at San Francisco Airport have found that the pilots were over-tired and failed to identify the runway, says a person who has been briefed on their findings. The plane mistakenly tried to touch down on a taxi strip where four other jetliners were awaiting takeoff. It could have become one of the worst airline disasters in decades if the Air Canada plane had descended a few metres more.

Both pilots told investigators they were tired as they neared the airport at almost midnight on July 7, 2017. Because they lived in Toronto, it was the equivalent of 3 a.m. on their body clocks. Investigators have also concluded the pilots hadn’t adequately reviewed preflight warnings about potentially confusing construction at the airport, according to the person familiar with the agency’s work, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly. Instead of aiming for a runway, the captain, who was at the controls, flew on a parallel path toward a taxiway, where the other jets were idling.

“Where is that guy going?” a pilot on a United Continental jet radioed as the Air Canada plane approached. “He’s on the taxiway,” the United pilot said three seconds later as the other plane passed just overhead. The Air Canada pilots eventually aborted the landing and climbed, but it was so late that they were still descending when they passed above the United plane and flew just three to six metres over a Philippine Airlines jet, according to the NTSB’s review of flight data and surveillance video. The board is expected to recommend new automated safety warnings and better pilot-fatigue protections when it releases its report today.

While the NTSB’s findings are subject to change at the meeting, the staff has proposed citing pilot actions as the cause of the incident, with the flight crew’s fatigue and other issues as factors, said the person.

The NTSB is also preparing to ask Transport Canada to adopt stricter rules for pilots who fly in the U.S., according to the person.

Air Canada didn’t respond to a request for comment. Canada’s rules governing how many hours a day a pilot can fly haven’t been changed since 1996, according to a 2014 advisory by Transport Canada. Since that time, many other nations have adopted new regulations as the science of sleep has shown the dangers of fatigue. Canada announced its intent to bring its rules more closely in line with U.S. and European standards in a 2014 advisory. Transport Canada intends to finalize its updated regulations as soon as this year, it said in an emailed statement.