Pilot Error Deemed Likely Cause of Near Disaster at SFO | Aviation International News

Pilot Error Deemed Likely Cause of Near Disaster at SFO

NTSB says crew didn’t know of runway closure as they tried to land on taxiway

By Gregory Polek • Senior Editor

October 11, 2018

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has identified pilot error as the probable cause of the July 7, 2017 incident in which the flight crew of an Air Canada Airbus A320 mistook a taxiway for a runway at San Francisco International Airport and nearly crashed into four other airliners on the ground. The NTSB said the mistake resulted from the crewmembers’ lack of awareness of the parallel runway closure due to their ineffective review of notice to airmen (Notam) information before the flight and during the approach briefing.

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