Tuesday, February 20, 2007
CLEVELAND (AP) — A guidance device that helps pilots land was covered with snow and not functioning when a Delta Air Lines commuter plane ran off the end of a runway and pierced a fence, an airport official said.
Federal investigators will determine if the problem with the device, which emits a signal that guides pilots to the runway, contributed to the rough landing at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, airport commissioner Fred Szabo said Monday.
Passengers reported that they couldn’t see the runway as the plane, which had more than 70 people on board, landed around 3 p.m. Sunday, Szabo said. No one was injured.
The National Weather Service said snow had reduced visibility to about a quarter- to a half-mile as the flight arrived from Atlanta.