Federal aviation officials are reexamining how some jet braking systems perform in wet weather, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The National Transportation Safety Board is doing the reassessment in the wake of of several recent incidents where jets overran runways in foul weather, The Journal reported Tuesday.
For example, on Dec. 22 last year American Airlines Flight 331 coming from Miami to Kingston, Jamaica, hit the runway midway down during a storm. The pilots used all the breaking power available, but the Boeing 737 ran off the end of the runway. The jet ruined its landing gear and its fuselage broke in two, according to The Journal.
By the NTSB’s standards, the jet in Jamaica should have been able to land safely. But an investigation found that even when the maximum braking power was exerted, the jet failed to decelerate to the degree that flight tests and technical calculations had predicted, The Journal said.
So federal safety officials are considering making recommendations to reexamine and possibly make safety margins for landings stricter.
The Journal said that runway overruns are the largest category of accidents for commercial airlines around the world.