The captain of a United Airlines jet said the brakes appeared less effective than normal and the plane and brake pedals shook violently just before the Boeing 737 Max slid off a runway in Houston last month.
Pilots were uncertain about ground conditions once they broke through the clouds and saw the runway at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, based on a preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The captain said the runway looked dry, however the co-pilot said it looked wet. According to the report, the captain deactivated the automated brakes shortly after the plane touched the runway.
“He did not initially ‘slow down too much’ because the runway appeared dry, he wanted to shorten the time on the runway, and because he preferred to slow down gradually for passenger comfort,” the NTSB said.
As the plane neared the top of the runway, the captain attempted to steer onto a taxiway while aggressively pressing the brake pedals, the NTSB said. At this point the aircraft left the runway.
The plane was badly damaged – The left most important landing gear broke off because it rolled right into a grassy area at 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) and struck a concrete structure. None of the passengers or crew were injured, the NTSB said.
The preliminary report didn’t give a reason for the March 8 accident. The NTSB often takes a 12 months or more to achieve conclusions.
The accident was one among a series of incidents involving United aircraft that prompted the chief executive to take motion Reassure passengers in regards to the safety of his airline.
