Wrong runway..

[srgalahad]

One of the many...

"March 31, 1952 - A private aircraft, bound for Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey, mistakenly lands at Newark Airport (EWR). [The aircraft was piloted by Merrill C. Meigs, who was at that time a consultant to the Civil Aeronautics Administration, and was the namesake of now-closed Meigs Field in Chicago, Illinois."

for the collection of some 87 similar events and others less-confirmed --> http://www.thirdamendment.com/wrongway.html

 

[fliger747]

Having flown the Dremlifter, into McConnel, i will only comment that none of the smaller airports are in the database.

T

 

[Dev One]

That could have been the problem then - not having that info could lead them into a false sense that no other airfields were in the vicinity?
Plus I could imagine that with all the normal street/town lighting it could mask the airfields?
Keith

 

[Skyhawk_310R]

That could have been the problem then - not having that info could lead them into a false sense that no other airfields were in the vicinity?
Plus I could imagine that with all the normal street/town lighting it could mask the airfields?
Keith

Yep, it certainly wouldn't help visual acquisition efforts! If the totality of airports in the area were presented, then the PIC could at least use that to orient the "big picture." Absent that, without perfect memory, it would increase the odds of picking the first one seen that matched the paradigm!

Ken

 

[srgalahad]

One more in the ongoing saga of OOPS- this isn't quite right...

"Pilots have extracted an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 767-300 from the small Tanzanian airport of Arusha, two days after it made an unscheduled landing on its short runway.

It has been flown to Kilimanjaro, says a spokesman for the Tanzanian Civil Aviation Authority, its original destination before the mishap which resulted in the jet's overrunning and becoming temporarily stranded.
The 767 had been operating flight ET815 from Addis Ababa on 18 December and had been intending to land at Kilimanjaro at 12:55."


More, including video of the subsequent departure:
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/video-stranded-ethiopian-767-extracted-from-arusha-394340/

 

[srgalahad]

One more time, softly

A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-700 with 129 people aboard landed at the wrong airport in Branson, MO early Sunday evening

Flight 4013 from Chicago Midway put down on Runway 12/30 (3738X100) at M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport a little after 6 p.m. local time instead of hitting Runway 14/32 (7140X100)at Branson Airport about nine miles south. "Our ground crew from the Branson airport has arrived at the airport to take care of our customers and their baggage,'' Southwest spokesman Brad Hawkins said. "The landing was uneventful, and all customers and crew are safe.'' <figure class="right figure-width-325">

<figcaption>Photo Tweeted by Scott Schieffer
</figcaption></figure> Weather was good at the time and while the minimum landing distance for the aircraft is clearly something less than the 3,738 feet available at the downtown field, the airplane specs call for more than 5,000 for a takeoff.

http://www.avweb.com/avwebflash/news/Southwest-Flight-Lands-At-GA-Airport221259-1.html

Anyone still think this sort of thing is a "rare occurrence" ?

 

[Moses03]

Well, they do have a similar orientation.

At least no one was hurt or there was any property damage.

 

[stansdds]

Strange that this would happen given the navigational equipment airliners have and ATC should be monitoring them. Just my two cents.

 

[srgalahad]

For one pilot's take on the whole issue, read this:
http://karlenepetitt.blogspot.ca/2014/01/pilots-landing-at-wrong-airport.html

doesn't hurt to click on the "About Karlene" link at the top of the page.

However, since these incidents have plagued us for many more years than we have had the automation, it still comes down to analyzing visual and electronic clues and asking the question: "Am I seeing what I WANT to see, or what I SHOULD see?"

 

[srgalahad]

and here's another view, with 'Scary Mary' Schiavo speaking up.

"It happens — primarily in good weather, Schiavo said — when pilots opt to “hand fly” their jets instead of allowing onboard computers to do it.If they had been flying on instruments, it would have taken them straight in (to the right airport),” said Schiavo..."


“A lot gets swept away when controllers and pilots accept visual clearance to land,” Schiavo said, adding that pilots are usually much more concerned with keeping the right altitude, guide slope and speed than they are with surrounding terrain.

In this case, they would have been better off if they had let the plane do it.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2014/01/13/4749914/pilot-mistake-is-suspected.html