Regulators Probe Jet That Touched Down Short of Charlotte Runway

Federal air-safety officials are looking into an American Airlines jet that damaged the underside of its tail while trying to land at the Charlotte, N.C., international airport over the weekend, in a highly unusual incident the pilots attributed to wind shear.

The Airbus A321 en route from Atlanta with 159 people aboard smashed into several approach and runway lights Saturday night, climbed away from the strip and then landed safely on a second attempt, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. There were no injuries, but the event has prompted scrutiny from government and industry safety experts.

Over the weekend, an agency spokesman said the FAA was investigating, adding that the cockpit crew reported that shortly before touchdown the twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft experienced a wind shear—sometimes referred to as a microburst—which can cause a sudden and violent shift in wind direction relatively close to the ground.

The airport temporarily closed the runway after workers found debris on the strip, according to the FAA. The plane touched down short of the runway, according to one person familiar with the details, and the plane's black box recorders, containing flight data and cockpit conversations, are in government custody.

On Monday, American Airlines Group confirmed that after landing, the captain of Flight 1851, operated by US Airways, "discovered damage to the belly of the aircraft" and the plane was taken out of service.

American said it reported the incident to both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board. A spokeswoman for the carrier declined to provide additional details, citing the safety board's involvement. An NTSB spokesman had no immediate comment.

Airliner mishaps during landing or takeoff attributed to wind shear are almost unheard of in the U.S. these days as a result of enhanced radar systems and training for pilots on how to avoid and safely escape such dangerous weather phenomena.

Crews also must comply with safety rules at individual airlines, mandating landing pilots to execute a go-around if their planes aren't stabilized during the final phases of the approach with the proper speed, altitude and orientation relative to the ground.

The last major wind-shear accident in this country involving a commercial jet occurred at the same airport more than 21 years ago, when a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, operated by what was then called USAir, plowed into a field near the airport after it was caught in a violent downdraft spawned by a thunderstorm.

For American, the latest mishap is the second time in about a year that a cockpit crew's airmanship has prompted heightened scrutiny from government and industry safety experts.

In August of last year, an American Boeing 757, cruising at 35,000 feet over Venezuela, lost some 7,500 feet of altitude in about one minute. There were no injuries and the flight continued on to Brazil, but the incident was unusual enough to be noticed and analyzed by safety experts for months afterward. Some outside experts described the incident as a high-altitude stall. Airline officials subsequently said the cockpit crew failed to maintain speed and engine thrust appropriate to the flight conditions, but declined to provide further details.

The Charlotte event will be classified as an incident or more serious accident once the Airbus jet is inspected and repairs commence, depending on what engineers determine is the extent of damage to the aircraft's structure.

Write to Andy Pasztor at [e-mail]

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August 17, 2015 23:35 ET (03:35 GMT)

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