Go Back  PPRuNe Forums > Flight Deck Forums > Rumours & News
Reload this Page >

Orient Thai B747 passes within 200m of Tokyo Tower

Wikiposts
Search
Rumours & News Reporting Points that may affect our jobs or lives as professional pilots. Also, items that may be of interest to professional pilots.

Orient Thai B747 passes within 200m of Tokyo Tower

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 19th Oct 2004, 01:47
  #1 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: PHNL
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Orient Thai B747 passes within 200m of Tokyo Tower

Just read this in the Japan paper after almost one month has passed since the incident. Anyone have any more information? Here is a link to the story but it is not very informative. Seems the crew was not familiar with the VOR DME 16L approach and over flew downtown Tokyo at 1230am. They were way off course to over fly the tower as it is in the heart of downtown.

JapanToday

Last edited by JALD10; 19th Oct 2004 at 01:58.
JALD10 is offline  
Old 19th Oct 2004, 04:04
  #2 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Disneyland
Posts: 117
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thumbs up

Oops!

Here's another link to Reuter UK:

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle...4&section=news
Taikonaut is offline  
Old 19th Oct 2004, 14:34
  #3 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: The Netherlands
Age: 41
Posts: 157
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Heard that they were cleared for a visual approach. The flightcrew however wasn't really familiar with such an approach at Haneda. Luckely they managed to line up for the rwy, and landed the aircraft. Heard that the captain probably will be suspended, and the rest of the crew will get a refresher course.
Wonder why the controller(s) didn't jump into to help, when it was obvious that the 747 was flying over the city?

Lil' P
Lil' Pilot is offline  
Old 19th Oct 2004, 15:22
  #4 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LPPT
Age: 58
Posts: 431
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Orient Thai officials admitted the error, saying the pilot had not been familiar with Japanese flight manuals and landing procedures.
That explains it then
GearDown&Locked is offline  
Old 19th Oct 2004, 19:34
  #5 (permalink)  
The Cooler King
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: In the Desert
Posts: 1,703
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
c'mon folks.......does it really matter all that much?

surely, if it was a controlled visual approach, the guys at the front probably saw Tokyo Tower and were never at risk of actually hitting it........it's over 300 metres tall!

give yourselves some credit!!!!!
Farrell is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2004, 07:16
  #6 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Asia
Posts: 381
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I can assure you it was pretty bloody close. I live about 400metres to the north of Tokyo Tower and it made a hell of a racket...enough to wake the dead which it obviously did by the number of lights that came on and faces that appeared in the windows of the adjacent apartment building.

I would hazard a guess that the JCAB won't be approving too many more charters by Orient Thai
Traffic is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2004, 08:09
  #7 (permalink)  
Moderate, Modest & Mild.
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: The Global village
Age: 55
Posts: 3,025
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
"the guys at the front probably saw Tokyo Tower and were never at risk of actually hitting it........it's over 300 metres tall!"

At night time, and with hundreds of thousands of other lights in the Tokyo area, chances are it was Good Luck and not good management that they didn't hit it, because I very much doubt that they would have seen it.

This approach is not entirely dis-similar to the old IGS approach into Kai Tak, Hong Kong, inasmuch as the final approach course is at an acutely oblique angle to the runway, and even in daytime occasionally causes some problems - usually high descent rates, or overshooting the centreline.
Kaptin M is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2004, 12:33
  #8 (permalink)  
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: PHNL
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I have to agree. I fly a flt that gets into HND around 1130pm. It is a round robin HND~KIX~HND. Tokyo Tower is not lit up at that time and all you have is the JCAB blinking red lights on top of the the tallest towers. It would be very easy to misjudge your position if you are not on course. This was a major crew erorr (CRM)in not briefing the approach and not knowing what to brief. A lot of us have not been to some of the airports that we land at. Do you go blind or do you insist on a full and comprehensive briefing. It's better to know before you go. I am not judging the crew I am only offering an oppinion. The uncanny thing is is that a lot of the Orient Thai B747s are ex JAL and have flown that approach a hundred times......too bad the airframes don't have a memory.
JALD10 is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2004, 12:44
  #9 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Inside the M25
Posts: 2,404
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
enough to wake the dead which it obviously did by the number of lights that came on and faces that appeared in the windows of the adjacent apartment building.
Right .......
Young Paul is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2004, 19:42
  #10 (permalink)  
The Cooler King
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: In the Desert
Posts: 1,703
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
i stand, humbly, corrected!
Farrell is offline  
Old 20th Oct 2004, 21:14
  #11 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Arizona USA
Posts: 8,571
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Have to ask...why are we not surprised at this type of operation from Orient Thai?
A rogue operator at best, as other incidents have been reported here before.
Doesn't say much for the Thai DCA, now does it?

A bad apple in a rotten crate does not make for confidence.
411A is offline  
Old 21st Oct 2004, 04:17
  #12 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: USA
Posts: 31
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Thumbs down

Damn Roppongi would have been closed if that had happened.
blackbaron is offline  
Old 21st Oct 2004, 07:31
  #13 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 668
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
maybe the flight engineer could have helped avert this situation - he WAS onboard, wasn't he ?
SeldomFixit is offline  
Old 21st Oct 2004, 14:59
  #14 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: tunisia
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I can confirm the flight engineer was present on this flight.
orient spy is offline  
Old 22nd Oct 2004, 13:11
  #15 (permalink)  
 
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: South East UK
Posts: 428
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Nimitz Hill in Guam is 216m high but that didn't stop anyone...
Kalium Chloride is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.