Ooops! / Tea no biscuits interview!

[Jetscream 32]

https://www.aspendailynews.com/news/pilot-who-missed-runway-landed-in-snow-triggers-investigation/article_3d4c211e-fb2f-11e7-9fa7-b34af0ce90fc.html

[eckhard]

Probably thought that the cleared runway was the parallel taxiway and aimed to land to the west of that.

[His dudeness]

As Forrest Gump says:

**** happens !

Glad not to be in their shoes though.

[galaxy flyer]

Aspen is one of those airports I was always “on my A game” for. I can’t believe anyone gets casual or lazy operating there. OTOH, maybe do tunnel visioned they didn’t see the runway.

GF

[JammedStab]

Usually when this happens, it is due to some sort of a visual illusion that catches the pilot. Once one is aware of the illusion, it may be obvious that the grass area is not the runway but I suspect that there was somehow an illusion.

Looking at the picture, I see that the grass is visible making it able to somehow catch the eyes of the pilot as not being snow covered(or completely covered). I see that on the right side of the picture is a straight line of snow that could be perceived as a runway edge. Of course in this picture, the runway is darker which makes one wonder how it would be missed but the conditions at the time of landing including the agele of the sun are unknown. There may have been some thin ice or blowing snow that made things more difficult to be seen.

I'm sure what I have wrtten may sound implausible but I have a lot of winter time ops and I have almost landed beside the runway in a field. In that case, there was no snow in the runway-shaped field and thin snow on the runway and thick snow elsewhere, but trust me, it can happen.

A Dash-8 touched down beside the runway several years ago when the runway was covered in snow and the long thi field beside the runway had low cut cornstalks sticking above the snow.

[West Coast]

Was about an hour out of ASE when pretty much simultaneously LA Center and an ACARS message from DX indicated the runway was closed as they had an aircraft “off the runway”. Figured that was it, headed elsewhere, no way they could get the runway reopened that quickly. Guess it helps when you taxi yourself back onto prepared surfaces. Stout landing gear.