Terrifying new video shows moment United Boeing 737 skids on wet runway as cockpit transcript reveals pilots' panic
By Rachel Bowman
Daily Mail
Jan 1, 2026
New surveillance footage shows the moment a United Boeing 737 MAX skidded while coming into land on a wet runway in 2024
Newly released surveillance footage captured the moment a United Boeing aircraft skidded off a wet runway in Texas as the pilot panicked in the cockpit.
The United Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX veered off the tarmac after landing in Houston on March 8, 2024.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a trove of documents on Wednesday with new details about the incident.
About 160 passengers were on board the flight that departed from Memphis, and there were no reported injuries. The incident is still under investigation, and the cause has not been determined.
Surveillance footage from George Bush Intercontinental Airport showed the Boeing aircraft unable to slow down on the run and skidding into the grass.
A transcript of cockpit audio also revealed the conversation between Captain Alireza Johartchi and first officer Michael Dickson during the incident.
As the plane touched down on the runway, Johartchi told Dickson, 'I'm gonna roll it to the end' before he apparently struggled to slow the plane.
'Oh my god, I can't believe that happened. God darn it. I am so sorry,' Johartchi said.
A United Airlines Boeing 737-8 MAX veered off the wet runway after landing in Houston on March 8, 2024
Newly released National Transportation Safety Board revealed the pilot's cockpit conversation after the incident
The captain apologized to Dickson several times and asked the flight attendants whether any passengers were injured.
Johartchi said, 'Can't believe I did this', 'Sorry, man, to get you into this mess,' and 'Oh God, this is crazy.'
He also told Dickson, 'I thought it was gonna stop. Dude, I am so frickin' sorry to get you in this. I am so sorry.'
An NTSB performance study determined the Boeing 737-8 MAX failed to decelerate sufficiently before trying to exit the runway, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Investigators found the plane did not slow down because the crew eased off the key braking systems on the wet runway.
The speed brakes retracted after the plane touched down, which disengaged the automatic brakes, and reverse thrust was later reduced, making it harder to slow the aircraft.
The plane ended up lying flat on its wings on grass by the side of the runway and passengers were forced to deboard from an emergency gate ladder.
'The plane's left main landing gear departed the paved surface and contacted a concrete structure that was recessed into the ground, resulting in its separation,' the NTSB said in a preliminary report.
The cockpit audio also showed that Johartchi was concerned about disciplinary action and about the incident being discussed on social media.
About 160 passengers were on board the flight that departed from Memphis, and there were no reported injuries
'Ah we're gonna be all over the social media... frickin’ people man, taking videos,' he said as the passengers waited on the tarmac.
It also appeared that Johartchi told Dickson not to discuss anything while on the plane.
'So at this point we can't discuss anything with anybody, right?' Dickson, then 39, asked.
Johartchi, who was aged 61 at the time of the incident, replied, 'Nope.'
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