The FAA and Air Canada are investigating why the two pilots aboard an Air Canada flight ignored repeated calls from controllers at San Francisco tower to go around due to insufficient runway separation from another arrival. The incident occurred last Sunday night after the Air Canada Airbus A320 had previously been cleared to land on Runway 28 Right from a point on a six-mile final. Landing clearance is often based on separations controllers believe will exist when the next arrival crosses the landing threshold. But sometime things change and in this case the tower controller later believed that separation would not exist, hence the go-around call. Unfortunately, the Air Canada flight did not respond to any radio calls during the last six miles of flight.
Air Canada Flight Ignores Go-Around Calls at SFO
Key Takeaways:
- An Air Canada flight landed at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) despite repeated go-around commands from air traffic control due to insufficient runway separation from another arrival.
- The flight crew claimed radio problems, but controllers made at least six radio calls and used a light-gun signal, prompting experts to question why the crew didn't respond or use a backup radio.
- This incident marks the second safety-related event involving Air Canada at SFO in recent months, following a July incident where a crew nearly landed on a crowded taxiway instead of the runway.
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