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Old 11th September 2004 | 10:14
  #27 (permalink)  
Notso Fantastic
 
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 1,914
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From: UK
As we've drifted from inadvertently flying to the wrong destination to landing at the wrong airfield (there is a subtle difference), I can recall seeing in the 70s a JAL DC-8 on Juhu airfield (very short runway) just 4 or so miles from Bombay airfield. Damn good achievement to stop. BOAC had a VC10 land at the similarly laid out runway at Sharjah instead of Dubai (about 10 miles). In history, BOAC put a Stratocruiser into the wrong runway on Montreal Island. People have landed at the wrong airfield in Nairobi and more places than I would care to list here.

Whilst ILSs have virtually put paid to such incidents, with the main navaids of old (NDB and later VOR approaches), it was a lot easier to put down on the wrong airfield in poor visibility. Tired pilots, poor weather, primitive navaids- I won't cast the first stone!
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