Changes made after jet’s close call at SFO

Federal regulators have revamped rules at San Francisco International Airport, changing landing procedures and control tower staffing levels, in response to a close call last month in which an Air Canada jet nearly landed on a busy taxiway, officials said Thursday.

The Federal Aviation Administration will now require pilots landing at night to do an instrument landing, using the runway’s advanced guidance systems, when a parallel runway is closed. In addition, two air traffic controllers must be on duty through the latenight arrival rush, said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman.

The new policies are intended to avoid a repeat of the circumstances that contributed to the Air Canada jet nearly landing on a taxiway where four passenger jets were waiting to take off. According to a federal investigation of the July 7 incident, the Airbus A320 had been cleared to land on runway 28R just before midnight but instead lined up its approach for the parallel taxiway.

The jet was 59 feet above the ground and nearly clipped the waiting planes before the landing was aborted. The two pilots then circled the airport before landing safely.

United Airlines pilots in one of the waiting planes alerted air traffic controllers of the misalignment, while those aboard a Philippine Airlines jet farther back on the taxiway turned on their landing lights to alert the Air Canada pilots of an imminent collision.

Gregor said the new policies were put in place immediately after the incident.