California Commissioner Wants Investigation Following Airline Near Miss

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who was a passenger on the Air Canada flight 759 that nearly landed on a taxiway at San Francisco International Airport in mid-July, has sent a letter to the airline and three aviation and transportation regulators seeking answers.

The pilot nearly landed on a taxiway where four other planes were sitting instead of a designated runway. Jones was on the flight from Toronto returning from a conference of insurance regulators. He described the experience to reporters after the incident and complained at the time that passengers weren’t being given information on what happened.

“I write to request that Air Canada conduct a thorough and complete investigation of this incident, and that Air Canada cooperate with the relevant United States and Canadian aviation regulators, and that Air Canada inform all of the passengers from the flight as to the results of its and aviation regulators’ investigations and of the steps taken to prevent such a near disaster in the future,” Jones’ letter states. “As a passenger of Air Canada 759 I believe we have a right to know what happened, why it happened, and what can be done to make sure that no plane and its passengers are placed at such risk of loss again.”

A Federal Aviation Administration spokesman would not comment on how close the flight came to disaster, citing the agency’s ongoing investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board also will review what happened.