The Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating another incident involving runway confusion at San Francisco International Airport. The incident occurred on Tuesday morning when an Aeromexico plane aborted a landing, after it nearly landed on the wrong runway which was occupied by another commercial plane. This is the third incident at SFO in the last six months to prompt federal investigation.
NBC Bay Area’s Investigative Unit has been investigating safety issues involving close calls between airplanes since 2012. In 2014 our team found a rising number of aborted landings also known as “go arounds” at SFO both an increase in the actual number as well as the rate of “go arounds” at SFO year over year.
In 2012, the FAA updated the technical definition of what they consider a “go around.” Still, the Investigative Unit found there 1253 “go arounds” declared around the country since 2013. An different investigation from 2012 found that intersecting runways at SFO sometimes pose a problem for pilots.
To read more about our investigations check out the stories below:
