WRAL Investigates RDU's runway layout and how it impacts landing sequences
A preliminary ruling from the Federal Aviation Administration said a small plane bounced upon landing at RDU International Airport on Wednesday. The bounce sent the plane on a wild ride off the end of its runway.
The plane didn’t come to a stop before crossing over a much heavier used, longer runway that runs perpendicular to the direction of the plane.
The pilot, Art Johnson, and the passenger, Dr. Paul Chelminski, an internal medicine specialist with UNC Health are both expected to fully recover from the crash.
The single-engine, six-seater plane came to rest in a patch of grass after running off the airport's short runway and crossing one of the airport's long runways. An image from Google Earth gives us a better idea of the distance between the perpendicular runways - about the length of a football field.
WRAL Investigates had questions about the design and the distance between the two.
Aviation expert Jim Crouse says that set-up is pretty common, “There are various configurations of airports throughout the United States, but this is not an unusual arrangement, secondary or auxiliary runway to the intersect the main runways.”
We found Charlotte Douglas International Airport has a short runway that ends about the same distance from a major runway.
In this case, the pilot made his intentions clear to the tower to choose the shorter runway to land on, according to air traffic control recordings. “Tower, good morning. 228 Charlie Hotel, runway 32” Johnson radioed in. The tower did not try to redirect the plane.
That had us thinking - were any other planes using the breached runway, known as 23L or 23 Left, at or near the time of the crash?
Fortunately, tower communications shows two commercial planes were using the long runway on the other side of the airport called 23R or 23 right.
American Airlines flight 1895 from Charlotte landed at 10:10, about the same time the plane crashed. Air traffic control pinpoints the aircraft’s location, “Hello American Airlines flight 1895 23 right cleared to land.”
A Frontier Airlines flight headed to Boston took off around the same time, but also on the far runway, according to recordings, “Frontier flight 2880 23 right [inaudible] cleared for takeoff.”
While the radio traffic is difficult to understand, it does appear two other smaller planes were using the runway around the time the out-of-control plane crossed it.
The first recording we found is “November 515a CHARLIE [inaudible] 23 L ready for takeoff” and “Hello [inaudible} 23 Left cleared to land.” The pilot responds, “23 Left cleared to land.”
While air traffic control will allow aircraft to use both runways at the same time, Crouse says they'll try to avoid planes using both runways at the same time. “Hopefully in the air traffic control landing sequence and a tower sequencing, there's enough room between those aircraft that they're not potentially a conflict one to the other,” he said.
Another aviation veteran we spoke with said that’s the goal, but it’s not always possible depending on the volume of air traffic.
Crouse did say when airplanes bounce upon landing, it’s usually pilot error. However, we may not have that answer for months — or even longer, as the FAA examines every inch of the plane to determine if there was some type of mechanical malfunction.
