Air Canada problems at S.F. airport probed

SAN FRANCISCO — Six times the control tower at San Francisco International Airport ordered an incoming Air Canada plane to abort its landing, fearing another plane might be on the runway. Each time, the order went unanswered.

Finally, air traffic controllers Sunday night took out an emergency red light and aimed it outside their window toward the jet to try to get the pilots’ attention. That didn’t work either, the plane landed and one of the pilots then radioed that he was having problems with the radio.

“That’s pretty evident,” the controller responded.

The Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday it is investigating the second serious safety issue in three months involving an Air Canada passenger jet landing at San Francisco airport.

In July, an Air Canada jet with 140 people on board nearly landed on a taxiway where four planes were waiting before takeoff, prompting the FAA to issue new rules for nighttime landings and control tower staffing at the airport.

Sunday’s incident involved a flight from Montreal. The Airbus A320 was given initial clearance to land when it was about 6 miles from the airport, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. The cockpit acknowledged the instruction.

But air traffic control then reversed its clearance, concerned a plane that had just landed would not be off the runway in time.

“Air Canada 781, go around,” the controller said, using terminology telling the pilot to abort the landing.

Audio from the control tower indicates the Air Canada flight was told six times in less than 35 seconds to “go around” for another landing attempt. The controller’s voice gets slower and more emphatic.