Terrifying video and cockpit audio captured the moment a United Airlines flight slipped off the runway and rolled onto the grass, forcing passengers to evacuate.
The audio transcription and clip were released on Wednesday in a trove of National Transportation Safety Board documents about the United Boeing 737-8 MAX that veered off the tarmac while landing at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston on March 8, 2024.
Roughly 160 passengers were aboard the United Airlines flight 2477 from Memphis, Tennessee, when surveillance footage captured the aircraft struggling to slow on the wet runway before sliding into the grass.
At the same time, cockpit voice recordings captured a tense exchange unfolding between Captain Alireza Johartchi and first officer Michael Dickson.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe that happened. God darn it. I am so sorry,” Johartchi said after the mishap, documents showed.
The transcription then showed Johartchi and Dickson calling authorities to coordinate the evacuation and checking on passengers to make sure no one was injured.
“Can’t believe I did this,” Johartchi said to Dickson. “Sorry, man, to get you into this mess.”
The captain also appeared concerned about videos of the accident circulating on social media.
“Frickin’ people man taking videos… Ah, we’re gonna be all over social media,” Johartchi said.
The aircraft was left tilting to one side with its left wing touching the ground off the runway.
No injuries were reported during the incident.
An NTSB performance study showed that the Boeing 737 failed to sufficiently decelerate before trying to exit the runway.
In a report from last year, the captain said he was concerned because the aircraft wasn’t slowing sufficiently at 1,000 feet from the end of the runway, according to the Houston Chronicle.
Johartchi then applied greater brake pressure, but the fuselage and rudder brake pedals violently shook as he tried to steer the plane toward the taxiway, the outlet said.
The accident remains under investigation by the NTSB, and no official cause has been determined.
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