Jumbo jet mistakenly lands at small Kansas airport

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP, Excite

By ROXANA HEGEMAN and JOSHUA FREED

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The pilot of a cargo-hauling jumbo jet mistakenly landed the Boeing 747 at a small Kansas airport instead of the Air Force base a few miles away where he was supposed to set the plane down.

The 747, with a two-man crew and no passengers, intended to touch down at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, where it was supposed to deliver parts for Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner to a nearby company that makes large sections of the next-generation jet.

Instead, the mammoth freighter landed 8 miles north, at the smaller Col. James Jabara Airport.

Hours later, the jet took off again and within minutes landed at its original destination.

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20131121/DAA76N202.html

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A Boeing 747 "Dreamlifter" takes off Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013, the day after it mistakenly landed at Col. James Jabara Airport in Wichita, Kan. The jet landed Wednesday evening at the airport, about 8 miles (13 kilometers) north of its intended destination, the McConnell Air Force Base. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

[yuiyoshida]

1. Fog!

If that is indeed the Jumbo Jet, that image has a ton of fog.. but I am sure that Plane also has instruments that would locate where they are. Strange story.

[Wait Wut]

2. LOL!

I always fly in and out of Midway (Chicago). One pilot apparently had a side gig as a stand-up comedian. He had been going through is entire skit the whole flight from Phoenix.

It was a night flight and we approach Midway, "We're descending into Midway, but I can't see the runway. I do see a large bike path that leads into an abyss of some sort. , <pause> I've just been informed by my co-pilot that the 'abyss' is called Lake Michigan and that bike path is the runway. I'm gonna give it a shot. Here we go!!"

Everyone (that knew Midway) busted out laughing. There were others that looked like they had just died on the spot.

[Kelvin Mace]

4. Sounds like "Cabin Pressure"

I'm not a pilot, so I cannot vouch for its accuracy, but I can vouch that the series is damned funny.

[davidpdx]

14. I would have been shitting my pants

Yelling "that's not funny".

[Xithras]

23. Sounds more like Meigs!

Which really DID look like a bike path leading into the lake!

[Wait Wut]

25. LOL!

My dad would have to fly in and out of Meigs on occasion. I think he rewrote his will every time.

For the curious:

[URL=/][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[Xithras]

27. Yep

My first visit to Chicago was a business trip in the mid-90's, and the company owner flew us into Meigs on his private plane. We actually took a charter into Palwaukee, where the owner had his Cessna parked, and hopped to Meigs in his plane because he said it was "faster than driving from Midway"...though I'm pretty sure he was just showing off.

It was a VERY windy day, and I'm positive that my butt pucker left a permanent mark on that seat.

[SoapBox]

3. Oh my...

But that being said, I would be interested in the final report of the investigation this will bring.

[heaven05]

5. shouldn't drink and fly

glad everything turned out well.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

6. So he must have been cleared to land by the AFB tower on either 1/19L or 1/19R...

But instead of seeing 2 parallel 12,000' X 150' runways, he continued a final approach to a single 6,000' X 100' runway?
That's a pretty big goof.

[Samba]

7. Is it normal for air force fields to handle commercial/industrial traffic?

Is it normal for the air force to provide airfields to corporations like Boeing?

This reads kinds - Ha ha - silly pilot mistook one airport for another. But its more like OMG! a 200ton plane landed at our 20ton airport without clearance - but luckily nobody died and it looks like they didn't ruin the runway - whew.

The plane is 10x the weight that the smaller airport is rated for. They had to drain most of the fuel and close down a nearby highway in order to take off from the small runway. It took off with a different crew than the one that landed it.

[Shrek]

8. The AFB is right next to Boeing

Our commercial airport is miles away on the other side of town.

[question everything]

9. One more reason for the FAA to insist that pilots know how to manually fly

and not to just rely on autopilot.

[awoke_in_2003]

10. That being said...

I have no idea how this could happen with modern FMS (Flight Management System) equipment. I work with these things every day, and they are good.

[Capt.Rocky300]

13. Two possibilities.........

Lack of cockpit discipline or fatigue or both.

[awoke_in_2003]

15. That I can believe. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

18. Flying manually may have been the problem.

He may have had the "runway in sight" and landed VFR instead of using the ILS (Instrument landing system).

He may have flown half way across the world using precision instruments accurate to the foot only to hand fly the approach when he had what he thought was the correct runway in sight.

Both airports have north/south runways and the smaller one has an ILS approach from the north.

[Earth_First]

11. How would this aircraft have been given tower clearance to land?

Outside of an emergency communication with the tower, how would the control tower have granted permission for an aircraft of this size to request clearence without questions being raised before this even ocurred?

[Major Hogwash]

12. The Col. James Jabara Airport does not have a tower.

That's what was reported on the news.

[Earth_First]

16. Thanks for the clarification...

The two sources I have read had no mention of that.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

19. At an uncontrolled airport the pilots call out their intentions and positions.

The danger would be some small aircraft not expecting a fast moving jet to land without warning.

I can only imagine getting ready to taxi on to the runway and seeing that big bastard land right in front me.

[ktc]

17. What happened

I live here in doo-dah (Wichita) and the pilot made a mistake. There are only three dreamlifts in the us and they transport equipment for the dreamliners. Jabara is a small airport for small planes. This morning, lots of people here drove over there just to see it! The traffic was so bad, the cops had to direct it and there were two car wrecks. I can't believe the pilot could make a mistake like this and then he couldn't even say the name of the airport right. Must have been sleepy last night when he flew in. I am thankful they got the plane out without any problems.

[jakeXT]

20. No problems, despite the shorter runway

What is even more embarrassing, the aircraft might be unable to take off again from there, because the runway is too short: about 6,100 feet instead of about 9,000 feet

http://theaviationist.com/2013/11/21/dreamlifter-lands-wrong-apt/

[UncleYoder]

21. Has he got a chance?

if the pilot's good, see, I mean, if he's really..sharp, he can barrel that baby in so low, you oughtta see it sometime, it's a sight. A big plane like a '52. VRROOM! There's jet exhaust, fryin' chickens in the barnyard.


Has he got a chance? Hell, Ye...ye...


General Turgidson in HILTSWALTB.

[heaven05]

22. I just watched 'Dr. Strangelove' the other day.

Turgidson? Madness personified in spades. Sellers is a gem.

[randome]

24. Huh. Size does matter. Who'd have thought?

[hr][font color="blue"][center]TECT in the name of the Representative approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[In_The_Wind]

28. Hahahaha

[img][/img]

[liberal N proud]

26. That would be something to see

[leftyladyfrommo]

29. They probably could have driven it up to the right airport.

They were only about 10miles away.

They managed to get it off the ground and on to the right place.

Talk about an Oh, Oops! moment.