The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its preliminary report on a runway incident that occurred in September at Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
As we previously reported, a United Express Embraer EMB-145XR arriving from Dulles International Airport touched down amid heavy rain but did not have enough runway to stop, according to Virginia State Police. The regional jet overshot the designated touchdown zone and came to rest in an engineered materials arresting system (EMAS) at the end of the runway. Fortunately, none of the 50 passengers or three crew members were injured, and the plane was not damaged.
The NTSB report states that before departure, the airplane had to be deplaned twice due to maintenance issues. After boarding for a third time, the flight crew reviewed the weather and briefed the thunderstorms approaching Roanoke. The plane pushed back from the gate about two and a half hours after its scheduled departure.
While en route, the crew reviewed weather updates for Roanoke, which reported calm winds, no precipitation, a cloud ceiling of 15,000 feet, and runway 6 in use. Although the crew initially expected dry conditions, rain moved into the area as they descended toward Roanoke.
The report says the first officer twice called for a go-around, once before touchdown and again after, but the captain declined, continuing the landing because the weather report did not mention rain.
As the plane descended, air traffic control informed the crew of precipitation near runway 6 and that other aircraft were landing on runway 34. The captain then asked the first officer to prepare for an instrument landing system approach to runway 34.
As the plane approached, the rain intensified. The captain asked the first officer to run landing performance calculations for a wet runway. The officer determined they would have about 200 feet of stopping margin without using thrust reversers.
The jet touched down long, applied maximum braking and thrust reversers, but slid off the end of the runway.
The investigation is ongoing. No injuries were reported.
You can read the entire report below: