Aborted landing at SFO sparks outrage between controller, pilot

The air traffic control tower rises between Terminals 1 and 2 at San Francisco International Airport.

After a San Francisco International Airport traffic controller ordered him to abort his landing not once but twice, a United Airlines pilot had had enough.

Circling over San Mateo County on May 12, the pilot lambasted the airport's control tower over the radio, liveATC.net aviation audio reviewed by The Chronicle shows. An equally upset regional controller joined in.

"We’ve had issues with the tower here for a while as far as some of these go-arounds," the controller told the United Flight 1390 pilot, advising him to file a report on the incident.

"Yeah, I’ll fill one out for sure. I mean, that's just unacceptable," said the pilot, who had dropped the aircraft as low as 100 feet on his second landing attempt, according to flight data. "Two go-arounds for the same issue. … Something's gotta happen with that."

Aviation experts say this incident at SFO illustrates wider issues with the air traffic control system at the busy Peninsula airport. A week later, on May 19, two pilots had to abort landings at SFO after spotting a Southwest Airlines plane in their path on a runway, The Chronicle previously reported. Former commercial pilots told the newspaper that the May 12 and May 19 encounters speak to an airport bursting at the seams, often with just two parallel, narrow runways for arriving and departing jets.

Ross Sagun, a retired commercial airline pilot of more than 40 years and an air traffic controller for four years, called the audio of the double go-around "painful" to hear.

"SFO has always been a case of 10 pounds into a 5-pound sack," said Sagun, who now operates an aviation consulting company out of Benicia, adding that one can hear "the finger-pointing between approach control and the tower. Essentially, we have members on the same team blaming each other. This is not a healthy situation, and both managements should be looking into it."

The Federal Aviation Administration reviewed both incidents at the request of The Chronicle and found the controller handled them safely.

"It's uncommon for a flight to go around twice, but each event was routine and the SFO controller acted expeditiously to maintain a safe operation," the agency said in an email.

A United Airlines spokesperson declined to comment.

In 2017, SFO made international headlines after an Air Canada flight mistook a crowded taxiway for a runway and came within 14 feet of striking one of four fully loaded planes, barely avoiding what would have been aviation's worst disaster.

Last month, experts called for an investigation after The Chronicle reported on a Southwest Airlines flight that caused two passenger jets on final descent to abort their landings, one as low as 225 feet, according to flight data from FlightAware.

Go-arounds, an aviation term for an aborted landing, are part of every pilot's training, and can occur daily at major airports. Most go-arounds are not considered dangerous, but two occurring with one aircraft on the same arrival is unusual, experts said — and the closer an airplane gets to another craft on the ground, the higher the risk.

In fiscal year 2022, 0.4% of SFO's arrivals (approximately 1 in every 250) resulted in an aborted landing, the national average for major airports, according to FAA data. The SFO figure was up from a 0.2% rate (approximately 1 in every 500) the previous year. Since Oct. 1 the airport has seen about 250 go-arounds, the FAA told The Chronicle, averaging more than one a day.

A string of runway incursions at other airports earlier this year prompted multiple federal investigations and a Senate hearing. In one of the most alarming cases, a FedEx cargo jet at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport in Texas was cleared to land on the same runway from which a Southwest Airlines passenger jet was taking off. The cargo jet pulled up just in time, with investigators estimating that the two planes came within 100 feet of each other.

Last month, the FAA announced $100 million to help reduce runway incidents at 12 airports across the country. Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport received $10.8 million to build a new taxiway.

Jim Lilje, a retired United Airlines pilot of 28 years and a flight instructor, said the SFO incidents are indicative of problems at many major airline hubs.

"They are trying to cram too many aircraft onto too few runways," Lilje said. "This results in (air traffic control) cutting the spacing between aircraft down to the minimum. Sometimes the controller misjudges the spacing and sometimes the aircraft doesn't move with the alacrity the controller is expecting, and safe spacing is lost."

Go-arounds can rattle even the most seasoned travelers. On the afternoon of May 25, Mark Meltz was returning home to Los Altos from a business trip to San Diego when United Flight 5530 descended to as low as 175 feet at SFO before pulling up sharply for a go-around, according to flight data.

"If you fly regularly, your body is conditioned to expect the landing right after the descent, similar to diving off a diving board and expecting to hit water, and when you don't, your body has a reaction indicating something is amiss," he told The Chronicle. His flight eventually landed safely at SFO, and he said he isn't concerned about flying in the future.

"Overall, I do think air travel is safe, and I am comfortable landing at SFO," he said. "I hope this attention to these sorts of near-accidents will only have a positive effect to make all air travel safer."

The United 1390 incident started a little before 5 p.m. on May 12 when the flight arriving from Seattle was cleared to land on Runway 28 Left.

Radio traffic appears to indicate that an SFO controller tried to hustle a plane off the runway to allow United Flight 2626 to take off from 28 Left, but its crew took too long and the controller told United 1390 to abort. By that point, the aircraft had dropped to as low as 225 feet, according to flight data.

The flight looped around over Highway 101, down the Peninsula and lined up again for a second shot at landing on 28 Left.

Audio reviewed by The Chronicle shows that the SFO tower tells another United jet to line up on the runway to prepare for takeoff, while ordering a third jet to clear the runway with "no delay, please." However, United 1390 was closing in, expecting to land on the same runway. The controller asked United 1390 if they could "side step" or switch to Runway 28 Right, the parallel runway.

"Nope, that's too late," the United 1390 pilot responded. Seconds later he was ordered to go around, dropping to as low as 100 feet above San Francisco Bay, according to flight data.

As the pilot began to circle around for the second time, an SFO tower controller handed him off to a regional controller, but not before the United pilot sounded off. Surrounding air traffic controllers help guide planes to and from SFO and work on different frequencies than the airport's tower.

"You guys gotta do better than this. That's twice," the pilot said.

"All right, talk to Norcal about that," the SFO tower responded, referring to the controller who set up the airport landing approach.

The United 1390 pilot continued to vent to the next controller: "This is unacceptable. Come on. Let's not do this again."

"We don't work in the tower, sir," the regional controller responded.

As the jet continued south before returning, SFO's approach controller, who lines up planes arriving at SFO and ensures they are spaced out properly, expressed shock over what happened to another pilot uninvolved in the incident.

"I don't know what the tower is doing over there. They sent an aircraft around twice and they’re doing some weird stuff," he said.

When United 1390 entered that airspace, the approach controller and incoming pilot vented to each other.

"Yeah, I’m definitely filing a report for this. This is just unacceptable," the pilot said.

"Yeah, 1390, we are in 100% agreeance (sic) with you," the controller responded. "Sorry for it."

The controller said the issues with SFO's tower have been ongoing.

"We’ve had issues with the tower here for a while as far as some of these go-arounds, but I think it's more fit for an official report, because we’re hearing now they’re trying to blame us for our speeds," the controller said, referring to how quickly they are sending planes to land at SFO. "I don't know what was wrong with what we did."

The United pilot agreed and said he would file a report.

"Yeah, I’ll fill one out for sure. I mean, that's just unacceptable. Two go-arounds for the same issue. … Something's gotta happen with that," he said.

It is unclear whether the pilot wound up filing a report with his airline or the FAA. The plane, which had been scheduled to land around 4:50 p.m., landed safely on 28 Right at about 5:20 p.m.

Ross Aimer, a former United pilot who is now CEO of Aero Consulting Experts, which provides expert testimony in air cases and consults on aviation safety, said SFO has always been a "challenging" airport for pilots and controllers because of the narrow parallel runways, among other issues. He said arguments between pilots and controllers are uncommon on frequency, but are not productive.

"We really need to work with each other to prevent this thinly stretched system from falling apart," Aimer said. "Quick reactions and occasional go-arounds are part of the job, and that is what we are trained and get paid for. Arguments on the busy frequency only add to the frustration."

Reach Matthias Gafni: [email protected]