Delta Flight lands at wrong airport on 7/7
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Hadlow
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Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Rockytop, Tennessee, USA
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At least they knew something was amiss after the 500 foot call:
1200 feet per minute down low should have been a go-around, right? Is Delta stable at 1000 feet AGL or is it 500 feet on a visual approach?
They had the RNAV GPS 14 in the box but apparently chose not to use the guidance for the visual approach:
They were using the Nav Display in rose mode according to the report. Wouldn't they have mileage to the correct runway or a missed approach point displayed somewhere on the ND? Wouldn't the airport identifiers be displayed on the screen or are they suppressed in rose mode? I've never flown an A320. I've flown something years ago with rose mode, perhaps an A306, but its use was discouraged by the training department.
Some classic lessons that will undoubtedly be momentarily forgotten by another airliner crew when the next wrong runway landing occurs.
The captain reported that about 500 feet agl he did not observe the PAPI lights; however, he remained "focused on the visual approach." At 2041:25 the captain stated "confirmed stable." The airplane was 1.5 nm from the threshold of KRCA, 8 nm from KRAP. The airplane was descending approximately 1,200 feet per minute, and the captain said "this is the most [expletive] approach I've made in a while."
Shortly after, the captain increased the descent rate as high as 1,200 feet per minute, resulting in an unstable approach as he was focused on the wrong landing runway. The crew realized the mistake just prior to touchdown, but considered it was safer to complete the landing at that point.
They had the RNAV GPS 14 in the box but apparently chose not to use the guidance for the visual approach:
The captain switched off the autopilot, and directed the first officer to clear the flight director display.
Some classic lessons that will undoubtedly be momentarily forgotten by another airliner crew when the next wrong runway landing occurs.
