ROANOKE, Va. — The first officer of a United Express flight that ran off the end of a wet runway in Roanoke, Virginia, last month tried to get the captain to abort the landing twice, investigators say.
The new findings are part of a preliminary report on the September 24 incident, just published by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The Embraer 145 jet, operated by regional carrier CommuteAir, came to a sudden stop when it rolled beyond the runway edge and into a bed of compressible materials, an emergency stopping safety system known as EMAS. None of the 53 people on board were hurt.
WATCH: Passenger felt 'brakes go on so strongly' after plane stopped by end-of-runway safety zone
Flight 4339 was too high when it approached Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport’s runway 34 in a rainstorm, which the first officer noted to the captain, the report says.
“After crossing the runway markings, the FO called for a go-around, but the captain continued,” the report said. “About halfway down the runway, the FO called for a go-around a second time, but the captain continued.”
It is standard procedure for airline crews to abort a landing whenever either pilot calls for a go-around, but it is not clear why the captain did not do so in this circumstance. In 2010, the FAA called for all airlines to write policies “emphasizing that either pilot may make a go-around callout and that the response to a go-around callout is an immediate missed approach.”
The incident is still under investigation. The NTSB says it is reviewing the flight’s data and voice recorders at its lab in Washington.
The plane was carrying 53 passengers. No injuries were reported, though the incident gave many people a scare.
