"Probe Continues As Jet Moved Off Street"

Saturday, December 10, 2005

No easy answers
Federal officials begin probe they say will take at least a year to complete

By Guy Tridgell, Kate McCann and Jonathan Lipman
The Chicago (IL) Daily Southtown


An investigation into a botched landing that killed a little boy at Midway
Airport started Friday, while the city brushed aside concern the Southwest
Side airfield is no longer safe for modern air travel.

The National Transportation Safety Board will lead the probe into the fatal
Southwest Airlines flight. Fifteen NTSB investigators arrived in Chicago
hours after the accident that occurred during a snowstorm Thursday evening. 

Ellen Engleman Connors of the NTSB said the investigation will take at least
a year to complete. She said the inquiry will not be as tidy as those in TV
dramas.

"We will be here as long as we need to be," Engleman Connors said. "NTSB
investigations are not 'CSI' programs."

Flight 1248 was arriving from Baltimore when it slid off Runway 31-C about
7:15 p.m. The Boeing 737-700 shot through a fence at the northwest corner of
the airfield, continuing into traffic on Central Avenue and 55th Street and
smashing a car carrying a family watching the landing. 

Killed was Joshua Woods, a 6-year-old Northwest Indiana boy visiting his
grandmother on the Southwest Side. Of the 98 passengers and five crew
members onboard, two suffered minor injuries. Two people riding in cars were
in hospitals Friday receiving treatment. 

The death was the first fatality in the 35-year history of Southwest,
Midway's dominant carrier. 

Gary Kelly, CEO for the Dallas-based airline, offered his condolences to the
dead boy's family.

"It is a sad day for us," he said.

Investigators will comb through the plane until it is towed from the
intersection to a hangar today.

Assisting the NTSB in the investigation are the Federal Aviation
Administration and the Chicago Department of Aviation. Boeing and General
Electric, the manufacturer of the plane's engines, also will play a role.

The NTSB refused to speculate why the plane left the runway, but agency
officials acknowledged Chicago was in the throes of a major winter storm
that dumped 10 inches of snow at the airport. An average of 1 inch an hour
was falling at the time of the accident. 

Conditions at the start of the runway were classified as "fair" but
deteriorated to "poor" at the end, officials said.

"Weather is a factor which is under examination," Engleman Connors said.
"This being Chicago and winter, weather will be reviewed. You look at all
factors and rule them out.

"There are no immediate, quick answers. Usually the first guess is not
correct."

Voice and data recorders shed some light on conditions at the time of the
landing.

The flight crew was operating under a 300-foot ceiling of clouds with
visibility restricted to three-quarters of a mile. 

The plane circled Midway several times before descending on the southeast
corner of the airfield.

A sixteenth of an inch of snow was on the runway when the plane touched
down, traveling at 152 mph. 

"The airplane had been in a normal hold position," Engleman Connors said.
"The approach was normal with normal conversations. The crew did not mention
any problems with the airplane."

The aircraft bounced once on the runway, sliding from the airstrip 32
seconds later. It hit the fence at 46 mph.

A right tailwind affected the landing, but investigators do not know to what
extent.

Erin O'Donnell, the city's deputy aviation commissioner in charge of Midway,
said all other runways were closed so crews could concentrate on keeping the
runway clear of snow. 

Braking conditions tested "good" before and after the landing, she said.

The NTSB also will research the crew and the plane. 

Manning the cockpit was a 59-year-old captain with more than 10 years of
experience with Southwest. Accompanying him was a 35-year-old first officer
with the airline more than two years. 

The flight, which was scheduled to continue to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City,
was the first one of the day for the crew. 

The NTSB refused to divulge who was landing the plane in Chicago. Drug and
alcohol tests were ordered for both men. 

The mechanical history of the plane appears clean, officials said. 

Southwest purchased the plane a year ago. A routine maintenance check
Wednesday in Phoenix, Ariz., revealed no problems. 

Midway, which helped to usher in commercial aviation when it opened in 1926,
is known as a tight fit for pilots. 

About 200 feet separate the end of the runway from either Central Avenue or
from 55th Street, city officials said.

A provision in a new federal law requires airports by 2015 to create a
1,000-foot buffer or to install concrete "arresting systems" to slow planes
that overshoot the runway.

Mayor Richard Daley did not appear concerned by the new rule. 

"Midway Airport has had a wonderful record," Daley said. "In fact, for the
last nine years Midway has received a perfect score from the FAA for
airfield eminence and snow removal."

Kelly said Midway offers ample space for his airline's fleet of 737s.

"Airports and airplanes are sized to accommodate each other," Kelly said.
"It is inappropriate to suggest the airport is not safe. There are airports
much smaller than Midway."

The scene of the snow-caked, blue-and-orange jet parked in the middle of a
city intersection bordered on surreal. 

Onlookers gathered to take snapshots, while smiling against the backdrop of
the plane. 

John Tabor, of Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood, stopped to look after
buying paczkis at a nearby bakery. 

"It is a sad situation," Tabor said. "Of all the people who could have been
killed, it had to be a little guy."

The airport was shut down after the accident. Operations resumed 6 a.m.
Friday.

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