The previously unreported mishap adds to a spate of safety incidents that have caught the public’s attention as airlines have ramped up flying since the pandemic.
A Southwest Airlines passenger flight in April came within 400 feet of slamming into the ocean off the coast of Hawaii after weather conditions forced pilots to bypass a landing attempt.Max 8 jet briefly dropped at an abnormally high rate of more than 4000 feet per minute before the flight crew pulled up to avoid disaster, according to a memo that Southwest distributed to pilots last week, which was seen by Bloomberg News.
“Nothing is more important to Southwest than safety,” the airline said in an emailed statement about the Hawaii flight. “Through our robust Safety Management System, the event was addressed appropriately as we always strive for continuous improvement.” The pilot was “pitching up and pitching down with the power and close to out of control — very close,” Kit Darby, a former commercial airline pilot and flight instructor, said in an interview after reviewing details of the flight. “It would feel like a roller coaster ride.”According to Southwest’s review, the incident occurred following an aborted landing attempt due to inclement weather that blocked the pilots from seeing the runway by a specified altitude.
Flights preparing for a landing normally glide down at a rate of 1500 to 2000 feet a minute early in the approach, Darby said, and slow to 800 feet about five miles out from the airport.The National Transportation Safety Board isn’t aware of the Southwest incident, a spokesperson said. The Southwest Airlines Pilots Association declined to comment.
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