"Feds begin probe of "short landing" at DIA"

Tuesday, November 23, 2004  

Feds begin probe of "short landing" at DIA
Runway's instrument-landing system cleared by FAA after incident
By Jeffrey Leib 
The Denver (CO) Post


Federal safety investigators plan to examine black-box data and
communications between air traffic controllers and pilots of an American
Airlines plane to determine why the aircraft landed short at Denver
International Airport on Sunday, clipping runway lights in the process. 

Flight 1115 touched down 350 feet short of the runway's threshold, about 50
feet into an asphalt-paved "overrun" area that precedes the runway, said
David Bowling, regional director of the National Transportation Safety Board
in Denver.

Visibility was extremely low at the time of the 10:40 a.m. accident, and
there was freezing fog and blowing snow reported at the airport, said
Bowling, who is chief investigator on the accident.

The MD-80 aircraft, which had 103 passengers and a crew of five, sustained
damage to tires and a brake-fluid line on the left main landing gear when
the plane struck a row of landing lights just off the asphalt overrun.
 
"Some of the debris was sucked into the engine and did some internal
damage," Bowling said.

The plane, which originated in Dallas, landed without further incident and
taxied to the gate. No one on the aircraft was injured.

American is investigating the accident, and the airline had no further
comment, spokeswoman Courtney Wallace said.

The runway is in the airport's southeast quadrant and was closed for at
least six hours Sunday while workers repaired lights costing about $12,000.

The runway's instrument- landing system for low-visibility landings was
recertified Monday morning when a Federal Aviation Administration plane flew
in from Oklahoma City to make sure it was working, said FAA spokesman Allen
Kenitzer.

The pilots of Flight 1115 reported they were directed by air traffic
controllers to make a "short vectored approach" to the runway, Bowling said.

With a short approach, planes often must descend quickly to intercept the
"glide slope," an electronic beam picked up by the landing plane to guide it
when visibility is poor, pilots say. Such a maneuver can be "complicated in
bad weather," Bowling said.

Investigators will review the plane's flight-data recorder and listen to the
cockpit voice recorder and taped traffic controller conversations with the
flight crew to help identify the cause of the accident.

In recent years, aviation safety specialists have targeted
approach-and-landing accidents, called "ALAs" in the industry, for
reduction.

"Unstabilized and rushed approaches contribute to ALAs," according to the
Flight Safety Foundation. "The risk of ALAs is higher in operations
conducted in low light and poor visibility."

To help remedy the situation, the group suggested "improving communication
and mutual understanding between air traffic control services and flight
crews."


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