WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - The crew of a Southwest Airlines (LUV.N: Quote, Profile, Research) jet that ran off a snowy runway in Chicago last December spent much of the flight trying to decide if they could land safely and considered trying other cities, cockpit recordings showed on Tuesday.
Flight 1248 from Baltimore to Midway airport skidded off the tarmac, crashed through two fences and struck a car before coming to rest on a city street. A 6-year-old Indiana boy riding in the car was killed. No one on the plane was hurt.
Veteran Capt.***** and first officer ********* decided to bring the Boeing 737 down on Dec. 8 despite snow, conflicting reports on runway conditions, and their initial indecision about using the aircraft's automatic braking system, which could mean a more abrupt stop.
"No procedure if that sucker fails and we just go through the fence," ****** said in cockpit transcripts released by the National Transportation Safety Board. "We never talk about any of that stuff, ya know."
********** felt he was not familiar enough with the enhanced braking system to use it in bad weather and the two spent a long time reviewing calculations to see if they could land safely in Chicago.
While holding over Chicago, an order they did not welcome, ******* and ****** considered diverting to St. Louis or Indianapolis. When they were cleared for Midway, ****** joked to *********: "We're all counting on you."
The plane touched down normally and the automatic brakes were activated, the safety board said. But the crew quickly realized the plane was in trouble and added manual pressure to the brakes.
"Jumping on the brakes are ya?" said ******.
"Hang on," ********* said as the plane skidded.
"Hang on," ******** said just before impact with the fence.
Accident investigators said the automatic brakes worked but the skidding diminished their effectiveness.
The safety board has been looking at when the pilots activated the engine thrust reversers, which help slow a plane once it's down. They were turned on 18 seconds after touchdown; Four or five seconds is common.
Privately, one investigator said on Tuesday the safety board was skeptical of the crew's decision to land in Chicago. Investigators have been critical of industry approved landing calculations like the ones used by the Southwest crew.
Flight 1248 from Baltimore to Midway airport skidded off the tarmac, crashed through two fences and struck a car before coming to rest on a city street. A 6-year-old Indiana boy riding in the car was killed. No one on the plane was hurt.
Veteran Capt.***** and first officer ********* decided to bring the Boeing 737 down on Dec. 8 despite snow, conflicting reports on runway conditions, and their initial indecision about using the aircraft's automatic braking system, which could mean a more abrupt stop.
"No procedure if that sucker fails and we just go through the fence," ****** said in cockpit transcripts released by the National Transportation Safety Board. "We never talk about any of that stuff, ya know."
********** felt he was not familiar enough with the enhanced braking system to use it in bad weather and the two spent a long time reviewing calculations to see if they could land safely in Chicago.
While holding over Chicago, an order they did not welcome, ******* and ****** considered diverting to St. Louis or Indianapolis. When they were cleared for Midway, ****** joked to *********: "We're all counting on you."
The plane touched down normally and the automatic brakes were activated, the safety board said. But the crew quickly realized the plane was in trouble and added manual pressure to the brakes.
"Jumping on the brakes are ya?" said ******.
"Hang on," ********* said as the plane skidded.
"Hang on," ******** said just before impact with the fence.
Accident investigators said the automatic brakes worked but the skidding diminished their effectiveness.
The safety board has been looking at when the pilots activated the engine thrust reversers, which help slow a plane once it's down. They were turned on 18 seconds after touchdown; Four or five seconds is common.
Privately, one investigator said on Tuesday the safety board was skeptical of the crew's decision to land in Chicago. Investigators have been critical of industry approved landing calculations like the ones used by the Southwest crew.
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