A commercial United Airlines jet skidded off an airport runway in Houston on Friday, in the latest incident sparking nationwide concern over aviation safety.
“After landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, United Airlines Flight 2477 rolled onto the grass when exiting onto the taxiway” according to a statement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The flight, which originated from Memphis International Airport, just landed on the tarmac before it could taxi to its assigned gate. After rolling onto the grassy area near the runway, the Boeing 737 Max 8 came to a rest on one of its wings. According to the airline, 160 passengers and six crew members were safely evacuated and bused to a terminal. Authorities say nobody was hurt and no flights were delayed. The FAA says it is investigating the incident.
Federal authorities are also probing a separate mishap that happened just the day before and prompted a brief closure of the runway at the San Francisco International Airport. On Thursday, a tire fell from a United Airlines flight shortly after takeoff. Debris from the tire crashed in an employee parking lot, causing damage to two vehicles. The Boeing 777 was carrying 249 passengers and crew members, but nobody was hurt. The flight, bound for Japan, was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport after the crew reported the landing gear issue.
Earlier this week, a United Airlines flight departing from Houston, Texas, and bound for Fort Myers, Florida, suffered an engine fire. Passengers witnessed flames bursting from the plane’s engine shortly after takeoff. The airline later issued a statement, saying bubble wrap in the engine of the Boeing 737 sparked the fire.
In January, a door plug fell off an Alaska Airlines flight and became the center of a high-profile probe by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). A left, mid-cabin door panel blew out of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in January, leaving a gaping hole on the side of the jet. The major mishap prompted the temporary grounding of certain Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft operated by US airlines. The fiasco also sparked a six-week FAA audit, which found that Boeing allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements, according to an FAA statement.
“Safety is our top priority and we deeply regret the impact this event has had on our customers and their passengers,” the manufacturer said in a statement. “We agree with and fully support the FAA’s decision to require immediate inspections of 737-9 airplanes with the same configuration as the affected airplane.”
Three passengers on that plane have since launched a $1 billion lawsuit against Alaska Airlines and Boeing, claiming negligence.
The FAA publicly discloses aviation accidents and incidents on its website. The recent mishaps are only a few in a string of incidents sparking concern over aviation safety, especially as airlines prepare for a typically busy summer travel season.
According to an Associated Press-NORC Poll taken after the Alaska Airlines incident, only about two in 10 U.S. adults have “a great deal” of confidence that airplanes are properly maintained. Another half have a “moderate” amount of faith that aircraft are generally safe from any structural faults.
Additionally, about 4 in 10 survey respondents have great confidence that pilots and air traffic controllers can maintain the safety of air travel. Furthermore, only about 20 percent are confident in the work of federal agencies, commercial airlines, or aircraft manufacturers to uphold air safety, according to the data.
