User:MasterofDisaster

A Delta 767 (not N185DN).

Don't Ever Land There Again! DELTA mistakes on taxiway M at two different airports.

Background

Delta Airlines Flight 60 flew from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Atlanta, Georgia with 183 passengers and 12 crew and arrived around 6:00 a.m. on October 19, 2009. The Delta crew landed their Boeing 767-332ER on taxiway M instead of a runway.

The Delta crew checked in normally with air traffic control. The audio record of control - crew communications has been preserved. Approach control initially directed Delta 60 to land on Atlanta's 26R runway, later switching to 27L, and handed the flight over to local control. Around 0603, Atlanta local control asked Delta Flight "60 if they had runway 27R in sight and if they would prefer to land on runway 27R. [Delta Flight] 60 responded in the affirmative to both questions and then accepted a clearance to land on runway 27R." The Delta captain landed on a taxiway instead of an authorized runway.

Options

The Delta captain realized about four seconds before touch down that he was landing on a taxiway. The Delta captain had at least one safe course of action other than landing. This model 767 has an approach speed of 140 knots and a take off speed of 150 knots, so aborting the landing should have been safe and simple. Taxiways are sometimes blocked with aircraft, ground support equipment, and other objects, and the published records do not reveal why the Delta captain did not abort the landing. Delta's 767-300ER aircraft accommodate 211 people, and any object on the taxiway would likely have resulted in catastrophic loss of life. At about 0605, ground control told local control that Delta 60 landed on a taxiway. The tower Front Line Manager requested the Delta captain to call him in the tower, and the captain called soon after reaching the gate.

In contrast, on July 7, 2017, just before midnight, an Airbus A320 was cleared to land on runway 28R at San Francisco International Airport, but lined up on Taxiway C. The pilot advanced the throttles, aborted the landing, and “landed normally without incident” after its second approach. While the event caused some consternation at the time, the problem wasn't the go around, the problem was flying an airliner so that it almost landed on a taxiway. The pilot's decision to abort the landing and go around was professional. "A properly executed go-around is a routine, safe, and well-practiced maneuver."

Indeed, the FAA suggests approach speed should be about 130% of an aircraft's stall speed. Raising the gear, and if necessary, the flaps would decrease drag and increase speed even without adding power as suggested. The FAA also notes

Whenever landing conditions are not satisfactory, a goaround is warranted. *** Situations such as *** unexpected appearance of hazards on the runway, *** and/or an unstable approach are all examples of reasons to discontinue a landing approach and make another approach under more favorable conditions. The assumption that an aborted landing is invariably the consequence of a poor approach, which in turn is due to insufficient experience or skill, is a fallacy. The go-around is not strictly an emergency procedure. It is a normal maneuver that is also used in an emergency situation. 

Visual factors

The aircraft landed after moonset and before sunrise. Nevertheless, visibility was 10 miles, and the winds were calm.

Generally speaking, runway lights are white. Taxiway M has blue edge lights and green centerline lights. Those colors are standard for taxiways. Those lights were operating normally at the time Delta 60 landed on the taxiway. Taxiway M is only half was wide as runway 27R. Investigators later flew an approach to determine how an experienced captain could land on a taxiway. The runway lights were dim, but blue taxiway edge lights were visible about 500 feet above ground level.

Diagram of Hartsfield Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. It is highlighted to show Taxiway M and Runway 27R

Disparate discipline

The Delta captain was properly licensed and certified to fly large commercial airliners including the Boeing 767 and the McDonnell Douglas MD-11. Delta hired him in 1990, and he had more than 9,000 hours flying with more than 3,000 in the 767. The Federal Aviation Administration found that the cause of the incident was "The flight crew’s failure to identify the correct landing surface due to fatigue." Delta suspended the two pilots, but intended to retrain them and return them to flight status. This light punishment contrasts starkly with Delta's treatment of Capt. Timothy Cheney and First Officer Richard Cole who flew 100 miles past their appointed destination of Minneapolis, Minnesota on October 21, 2009. Delta indicated it would not reinstate Captain Cheney and First Officer Cole under any circumstances.

Succinct description

Actor Harrison Ford Ford landed his single-engine Aviat Husky on Taxiway C at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California on February 13, 2017. He succinctly described his actions by reporting to the controllers "I'm the schmuck who landed on the taxiway.”

Delta strikes again

The Delta B767-332ER, N185DN, which landed on Atlanta's taxiway M was later involved in another incident. The Delta 767 collided with another Delta aircraft, Bombardier CRJ-900 (N132EV) at Boston's Logan International Airport on the night of Thursday, July 14, 2011. One of Delta's 767 pilots said "I think we hit the (plane) off of our left with our wing." The Delta pilot was right; published photos show much of the tail missing from the smaller plane. Delta's 767 crashed into the Bombardier on Boston's taxiway M. The FAA reported that "the CRJ900 sustained substantial damage, which included damage to the horizontal tail and vertical tail, and the airplane lost fluid in all three hydraulic systems. Parts of the B767 winglet were sheared off and embedded in the tail of the CRJ900." The FAA described the damage to the 767 as "substantial." One passenger on the CRJ-900 suffered minor injuries. The 767 pilot had 6,000 hours of experience in the aircraft. Safe taxiing is a basic fundamental for any pilot.

The primary requirements for safe taxiing are positive control, the ability to recognize any potential hazards in time to avoid them, and the ability to stop or turn where and when desired, without undue reliance on the brakes. Pilots should proceed at a cautious speed on congested or busy ramps.

Accordingly, the FAA found that the cause of the crash was the Delta "Captain's failure to maintain a safe clearance between his wing and the tail of the CRJ900 that was stopped on a taxiway."

Delta Airlines Pilot Deviation Report