- An American Airlines flight experienced a “brake anomaly” during its landing last month.
- Safety investigators determined the plane’s flexible hydraulic lines were not properly connected.
- The incident is just one in a string of safety accidents that have shocked the industry in recent months.
An American Airlines flight that rolled off the runway last month when its braking system malfunctioned had undergone a brake-replacement job just four days prior, investigators said.
The February 10 American Airlines flight from Washington, DC, to Dallas experienced a “brake system anomaly” during landing, according to a preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report.
The Boeing 737-823 model’s automatic brakes switched from off to on and then off again immediately after landing, flight crew told the investigators. The pilot had to manually brake the pedals and reverse the plane’s thrusters to slow the engine, the NTSB report said.
The pilot warned air traffic controllers that they were experiencing a “total brake failure” during the landing, according to the report.
The jet eventually came to a stop in a paved overrun area. The flight’s 104 passengers deplaned and reported no injuries. Federal safety officials swiftly prompted a probe into the incident.
Investigators later determined that the plane’s flexible hydraulic lines within its braking system were not properly connected at the time of the incident. The jet had received replacement brakes during maintenance just four days prior to the incident, according to the report.
“The safety of our customers and team members is our top priority and we are fully cooperating with the National Transportation Safety Board in its investigation of American Airlines flight 1632,” a spokesperson for American Airlines told Business Insider this week.
The Boeing plane was manufactured in 2009 and is an earlier version of the 737 — not the Max model that experienced a midair blowout during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
The Dallas incident is just one of several scary aviation safety incidents that have shocked the industry in recent months. United Airlines flights have suffered a missing panel and a tire falling off midair in the past few weeks.
