Plane skidded off runway after captain didn’t respond to co-pilot’s calls

The captain of a regional jet continued to land despite two go-around calls from the first officer during an approach that overran the runway at Roanoke Airport in Virginia on September 24, according to a new report from the National Transportation Safety Board.

The first officer of CommuteAir Flight 4339, operating on behalf of United Airlines as United Express, told the NTSB that the Embraer E145 plane was too high and rain intensified during final approach.

They requested a go-around once the plane crossed the runway markings, and then again at about mid-runway, when it still had not landed.

A go-around occurs when a pilot decides not to land. Instead, the plane strays from the runway to turn around and attempt another approach.

“It suddenly crashed during a very hard, very late landing,” Steve Harrison, a passenger on the flight, told local Roanoke CBS affiliate station. WDBJ7 in September.

The NSTB said the captain continued despite both calls – likely a departure from flight protocols – and the plane stopped in the airport’s Engineering Material Arrest System (EMAS), which is a crushable table at the end of the runway into which the plane’s wheels sink.

None of the 53 passengers and crew were injured and the plane suffered no damage. The NTSB is not responsible for assigning responsibility; its main role is to determine the root cause of incidents and accidents.

It’s abnormal to continue after a go-around

The first officer typically has fewer flight hours than the captain, but is still fully qualified to fly the plane and is empowered to speak up when something goes wrong.

Jason Middleton, CEO of Silver Air Jets and captain of the Gulfstream G550, told Business Insider that both pilots should respond to the other’s go-around request, “no questions asked.”

It’s unclear what CommuteAir’s flight operations manual says about go-arounds, but Middleton said it’s “standard aviation protocol across the board.”

United referred BI to CommuteAir. The regional airline told Business Insider it had nothing to add following the release of the NTSB report.

Aviation safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse told Business Insider that a culture of communication, teamwork and collaborative decision-making in the cockpit has been developed and refined since the 1980s.

“The captain is in charge, but the first officer has a say in what should happen,” he said. “If the first officer requested a go-around, then ideally a go-around would take place.”

He added that the investigation is ongoing and it is unclear whether the captain continued because he was ignoring the first officer or if there was another reason for the inaction, such as a communications equipment problem. Pilots speak to each other in the cockpit via an intercom system using their headsets.

Air accidents like this have happened before.

In 2011, Canadian airline First Air crashed after the co-pilot requested a go-around, but the captain continued the approach, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Twelve of the 15 occupants died.

A special track system made it possible to stop the plane

The NTSB said the pilots used full brakes and thrust reversers before the plane stopped in EMAS. CommuteAir passenger Debra Tatar told WDBJ7 she had “never felt the plane’s brakes working so hard before.”

The FAA said EMAS can stop most planes that overrun the runway at speeds of 80 miles per hour or less.

EMAS is one of many safety improvements developed by US regulators over the years – and it has played a crucial role in several on-track incidents.

Two private planes left the runways in early September, but both were stopped by EMAS, according to the FAA.

In 2016, EMAS prevented vice-presidential candidate Mike Pence’s campaign plane from leaving the runway at New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

“The EMAS system has saved many lives,” Middleton said. “What a great safety victory that this plane (CommuteAir) stopped at EMAS and everyone left safely.”