Pilots land at wrong airport.
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Downunder
Posts: 290
Pilots land at wrong airport.
Not the first time by a long shot. I remember QF in the 1980's lining up on Hughes Field, miles away from LAX doing a visual approach.
Passenger plane lands at the wrong airport after pilots ignore their navigation equipment.
Passenger plane lands at the wrong airport after pilots ignore their navigation equipment - Travel - NZ Herald News
Passenger plane lands at the wrong airport after pilots ignore their navigation equipment.
Passenger plane lands at the wrong airport after pilots ignore their navigation equipment - Travel - NZ Herald News
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Man Bilong Balus long PNG
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Now officially on Life's scrap heap, now being an Age Pensioner and not liking it one little bit! I'd rather be flying but in the meantime still continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
Age: 66
Posts: 2,660
Hey, I once landed at Kaintiba and requested cancel SAR Kamina!

Or was it the other way 'round?
Middle of the Wet, it was...
Any ex PNG lapuns will savvy.


Or was it the other way 'round?

Middle of the Wet, it was...
Any ex PNG lapuns will savvy.


Victim of a bored god
Moderator
Join Date: Jan 1996
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Hey, I once landed at Kaintiba and requested cancel SAR Kamina!


Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Asia
Posts: 2,374
The airports look very similar from the air, and being on the coast the runways are the same direction. The mistake is quite easy if you try and eyeball it, thats what navigation equipment is there to prevent.
In India, the ATIS for Chennai warns pilots not to mistake the nearby military airbase for the civil airport, something to do with a cargo jumbo landing there by mistake.
In India, the ATIS for Chennai warns pilots not to mistake the nearby military airbase for the civil airport, something to do with a cargo jumbo landing there by mistake.
Man Bilong Balus long PNG
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Now officially on Life's scrap heap, now being an Age Pensioner and not liking it one little bit! I'd rather be flying but in the meantime still continuing the never ending search for a bad bottle of Red!
Age: 66
Posts: 2,660
Taily;
A 'Bou?
Thought those things could get into and out of nearly anything a Bongo Van could!
Green Gravel Truck

Thought those things could get into and out of nearly anything a Bongo Van could!
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Richmond
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Posts: 112
Skol,
You need to check your facts before you splash!
The airport that was the mistake was Hawthorn which is about 3-4 miles from LAX. You go past it at about 1200' depending on which runway you are landing at in LAX. No excuse for it but LAX in the haze can be an issue specially if ATC has left you high.
You need to check your facts before you splash!
The airport that was the mistake was Hawthorn which is about 3-4 miles from LAX. You go past it at about 1200' depending on which runway you are landing at in LAX. No excuse for it but LAX in the haze can be an issue specially if ATC has left you high.

Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Asia
Posts: 2,374
What navigation equipment?
GPS on the runway threshold to give bearing and distance.
ILS/DME tuned in even for visual approach.
That way if you are on short final but your instruments show the airport is 10 miles away it may indicate you are in the wrong place.
Avoid imitations
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Wandering the FIR and cyberspace often at highly unsociable times
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I once landed at exactly the correct place, but a month early!
(Tasking cell's mistake, not ours..they sent us in June and the user wanted us in July).
(Tasking cell's mistake, not ours..they sent us in June and the user wanted us in July).
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Wingham NSW Australia
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JamieMaree is spot-on SKOL. Having followed the QF across the Pacific from HNL we landed ahead of it into LAX. Later in the evening in SFO the story came out and I cannot recall whether or not the QF boys bought the beers, but maybe they should have. It was late September 1980. BTW, Hughes has been closed now for about 30 years.
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Australia
Posts: 470
I agree, early 1980s. There was a bit more to it though. As I remember, it was only the second QF landing into LAX and the crew were given a "mud map" by the 1st crew which was supervisory crew. The mud map featured fuel tanks as a marker. The trouble was that there were 2 different lots of fuel tanks. One lot not seen by crew number one and that was what caused the confusion.
I was on crew 3 waiting in HNL and we rapidly had the mud map withdrawn from our brief sheets.
Wunwing
I was on crew 3 waiting in HNL and we rapidly had the mud map withdrawn from our brief sheets.
Wunwing
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: Oztrailia
Posts: 2,867
Didn't they have an ILS in LAX then? Why use a mud map to fly a visual approach into an unfamiliar Airport???
In the past I've done a visual right base onto 24R from SMO, but that was in blue sky and I'd been there multiple times before.....
In the past I've done a visual right base onto 24R from SMO, but that was in blue sky and I'd been there multiple times before.....
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Wingham NSW Australia
Age: 80
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I would be amazed if Qantas did not have Jeppesen Approach Plates for LAX and if they had not required operating crews to have done at least one simulated approach to LAX before operating into the facility. It is too long ago to remember exactly, but I am pretty sure we used the ILS for arrival, at least until visual with the runway. We were a B707.
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C-17A lands at GA airport instead of Homestead AFB, Florida>>
http://www.google.com.au/url?q=https...JGcerHRtz32FJA
another oops!
http://www.google.com.au/url?q=https...JGcerHRtz32FJA
another oops!