"Pilots rarely choose to divert a flight to another airport"

Friday, December 9, 2005

Pilots rarely choose to divert a flight to another airport
BY MARK SKERTIC
The Chicago (IL) Tribune


CHICAGO - When pilots don't like the conditions as they approach the runway,
they have a list of options, including aborting the landing and then
diverting to another airport - an expensive choice for airlines keeping a
close eye on expenses such as fuel costs.

"Your mind is racing a mile a minute because you want to make the safest
decision possible," said ATA Airlines Capt. Matt Ellis. "You just want to
get the plane on the ground so you can start stopping it."

Pilots like Ellis consider wind, visibility, runway conditions and their own
height and speed. Far down the list, but still on the list, is the financial
cost to the airline of diverting a flight.

"The safety of the passengers, the airplane, the crew is paramount," said
Ellis, who flies a Boeing 737-800, a slightly larger version of the
Southwest Airlines aircraft that crashed at Midway Airport Thursday night.

"I'd be lying if I didn't say that somewhere, way down the list, is the
financial cost of whatever actions I take," Ellis said. "As captain, I make
decisions that can either save the company money or cost the company money.
But no way, no how am I going to sacrifice safety."

In the case of the Midway accident, it is not yet known what specific
conditions the Southwest flight crew faced on descent, or whether aborting
the landing and diverting to another airport were possible considerations.
With the accident investigation just beginning, neither Southwest nor the
National Transportation Safety Board commented Friday on those details.

In general, the call to divert is a rare decision, usually made because an
airport can't accept flights for some reason, experts said.

For example, after Thursday's accident, flights to Midway had to be diverted
because the airport was shut down. Southwest Airlines diverted 17 flights,
sending many on to other destinations the flights had been scheduled to
eventually reach.

On even rarer instances pilots make the call to divert from an open airport
- because of weather or other problems on the aircraft. Through October,
only about 12,000 flights - or two of every 1,000 flown by major carriers -
were diverted. Southwest diverted just 1.6 flights for every thousand flown
during that period, according to U.S. Department of Transportation data.

Diverting a flight does have consequences. First, passengers are
inconvenienced. They also may be put up in a hotel for the evening or bused
to a new location to get them to their intended destination.

It can also leave part of the airline's fleet in the wrong place. Because
Southwest had to divert some traffic late Thursday, the airline flew several
empty 737-700s to Midway early Friday morning so they would be available for
scheduled outgoing service.

Southwest declined to comment on the cost of moving planes around in the
aftermath of the accident.

The airline industry has been under pressure to watch spending closely. Jets
carry less fuel and don't fill up their drinking water tanks in an effort to
lessen the weight of aircraft in hopes of saving fuel. But no pilot should
ever consider whether a safety decision is in the company's economic
interest, said Ed Stewart, Southwest spokesman.

"Whatever the financial cost is, it's irrelevant when safety is concerned,"
Stewart said. "What difference does it make if there's a cost? In the scheme
of things, that kind of thinking can't even be considered."

According to federal aviation data, less than 0.5 percent of flights into
Midway had to be diverted during the past 12 months. Most of those occurred
in December and January.

Anyone who's navigated Chicago expressways knows how treacherous roads can
be when a storm blows during those months. Tapping the breaks can send a car
into a tailspin. The same weather can tax the skill of even a veteran pilot
approaching a Chicago airport.

The pilot of Southwest Flight 1248 on Thursday encountered strong winds and
a runway with conditions that grew progressively worse as the plane traveled
down it. Despite applying the brakes, the aircraft was going more than 40
miles an hour when it crashed into the barrier at the end of the runway.

Pilots cannot wait for perfect conditions, said Vaughn Cordle, a United
Airlines captain and aviation financial analyst. For each airport and
runway, there are guidelines that determine whether it is safe for a pilot
to continue a flight, and those guide decision making, he said.

"The pilot has to make judgments, but those judgments are determined by
rules and visibility," Cordle said. "If he gets down ... and can't see the
lights or runway markings, he's legally required to go around. Or, if he
becomes unstable, if his airspeed is too fast or he's going to touch down
beyond the touchdown zone, then that's a judgment call."

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