Terrifying new video shows moment United Boeing 737 skids on wet runway as cockpit transcript reveals pilots’ panic
Newly released security camera footage captured the moment a United Boeing plane skidded off a wet runway in Texas and the pilot panicked in the cockpit.
A United Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX veers off the tarmac after landing in Houston on March 8, 2024.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a series of documents Wednesday containing new details about the incident.
While there were approximately 160 passengers on the plane departing from Memphis, no injuries were reported. While the investigation into the incident continues, the cause has not been determined.
Surveillance footage from George Bush Intercontinental Airport showed the Boeing plane was unable to slow down while running and slid into the grass.
The transcript of the cockpit voice recordings also revealed a conversation between Captain Alireza Johartchi and first officer Michael Dickson during the incident.
When the plane touched down on the runway, Johartchi told Dickson, ‘I’m going to roll it all the way’, before apparently struggling to slow the plane down.
‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening. God damn it. I’m so sorry,’ Johartchi said.
New surveillance footage shows the moment United Boeing 737 MAX skidded while landing on a wet runway in 2024
A United Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX veered off a wet runway after landing in Houston on March 8, 2024.
Newly released National Transportation Safety Board report reveals pilot’s cockpit conversation after incident
The captain apologized repeatedly to Dickson and asked the flight attendants if any passengers were injured.
Johartchi said, ‘I can’t believe I did this,’ ‘I’m sorry I put you in this situation, man,’ and ‘Oh my god, this is so crazy.’
He also told Dickson: ‘I thought this would stop. Dude, I’m so sorry I got you into this. I am really sad.’
The NTSB performance study determined that the Boeing 737-8 MAX did not decelerate sufficiently before attempting to exit the runway. Houston Chronicle reported.
Investigators determined that the plane did not slow down because the crew loosened the locking brake systems on the wet runway.
After the aircraft touched down, the speed brakes were retracted, which disabled the automatic brakes, and the reverse thrust was then reduced, making it difficult to slow the aircraft.
The plane lay flat on its wings on the grass at the edge of the runway, and passengers had to descend the emergency door ladder.
‘The aircraft’s left main landing gear separated from the asphalt surface and contacted a concrete structure embedded in the ground, causing it to separate,’ the NTSB said in a preliminary report.
The cockpit audio also showed that Johartchi was concerned about disciplinary action and the incident being discussed on social media.
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There were approximately 160 passengers on the flight from Memphis and no injuries were reported
“Oh, we’ll be everywhere on social media… videotaping people and cursing them,” he said as passengers waited on the tarmac.
It was also revealed that Johartchi told Dickson not to discuss anything on the plane.
‘So we can’t discuss anything with anyone at this point, right?’ Dickson, then 39, asked.
Johartchi, who was 61 at the time of the incident, replied ‘No’.
