SFO near-miss: Capt. ‘Sully’ pushes bill, says ‘biggest threats are runway related’

More than two years after an airliner nearly landed on four planes lined up on a San Francisco International Airport taxiway, a Bay Area congressman has teamed with famed Capt. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger to create legislation aimed at preventing such close calls and potentially a runway catastrophe.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, and Sullenberger announced the Safe Landings Act on Thursday in a conference room at SFO’s International Terminal, overlooking the tarmac where Air Canada Flight 759 came within 14 feet of crashing into four fully loaded planes, narrowly missing what could have been the worst aviation disaster in history.

Such runway incursions in the United States have increased by almost 83% over a six-year period, and there were five high-profile near-miss incidents from July 2017 to January 2018, including the SFO fiasco, which endangered more than 1,000 passengers.

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