Flight crew praised for handling of runway emergency
“Uudetectable” malfunction caused plane to slide off the runway into a fence
An MD-83 airplane ran off the end of the runway during a rejected takeoff March 8, 2017, because of an undetected mechanical malfunction, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said in a report released yesterday.
Seconds after reaching the takeoff decision airspeed of 158 mph at about 5,000 feet down a 7,500-foot runway in Ypsilanti, Michigan, the captain’s attempt to raise the nose and get the plane airborne was unsuccessful and he called “abort.” The airplane decelerated following the rejected takeoff but was traveling too fast to be stopped on the remaining runway. It departed the end of the runway at about 115 mph, traveled 950 feet across a runway safety area, struck an airport fence and came to a rest after crossing a paved road.