The Latest: Expert: It's rare for pilots to miss tower calls

The latest about an Air Canada jet that ignored repeated orders from a San Francisco air traffic controller to abort a landing last weekend (all times local):

2:30 p.m.

An aviation safety expert says it's unusual for pilots to miss multiple radio transmissions from air traffic controllers.

That's what happened Sunday when an Air Canada flight into San Francisco did not respond to six requests from the control tower to go around for a new approach. After landing, the pilot reported a problem with his radio.

Airline safety expert John Cox says on final approach the flight crew should have noticed the lack of communication and realized something might be amiss.

The plane landed safely.

Cox said investigators will interview the crew and examine the radio of the Air Canada plane to determine what happened.

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7:09 a.m.

The Federal Aviation Authority is investigating why an Air Canada plane ignored repeated orders by an air traffic controller at San Francisco International Airport to abort a landing over the weekend.

The East Bay Times reports that the flight from Montreal was given initial clearance to land. But air traffic control then gave six orders to "go around" because it believed another plane may have been in the runway.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the crew acknowledged the tower's initial clearance to land but did not respond to the subsequent orders. After landing safely, the crew alerted the tower it had a radio problem.

The incident happened three months after another Air Canada plane nearly landed on a crowded taxiway at San Francisco's main airport.

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Information from: East Bay Times, http://www.eastbaytimes.com