LANDING AT AN UNCONTROLLED AIRGIELD
 

After watching a 'documentary' on Sunday where major airlines admitted that they had landed at major airfields 'Chicago being one' without a clearance 'controller asleep', would this happen in the UK if so why wouldn't you divert instead.

Do remember that airliners routinely land at unmanned airfields in the US.

I don't know about the "controller asleep bit" but landing at an uncontrolled airfield is no big deal.
General procedure is announce your intentions on CTAF, speak with any other traffic and work it out amongst yourselves.

WhoAreYa

I thought a couple of examples existed in the last few years
where controllers were asleep and airliners did land. Policy
was changed to having two controllers working at night.

Is this in the right thread?

This is a military aircrew forum.

Walking, or rather marching smartly (as B@stard Bill was probably watching), to the F-4 OCU early one morning, I was surprised to see a C-130 make a low approach and go around somewhat adjacent to the ATC tower. This process continued a couple of times until it finally landed.

It seems that 'someone' in Ops had overlooked the early movement and the tower wasn't manned in time. Very sensibly the Albert drivers decided not to land, but advertised their frustration quite noticeably until someone in the Flying Prevention Branch arrived to switch on the radios.....:\

No doubt BB invited SATCO and/or SLOPS for a no-tea, no-biscuits chat?

Then there was the 1974 Gnat incident, where a QFI landed without clearance. Or rather he did have clearance to land at Shawbury, but actually landed at Sleap, causing much consternation in the process!

When I was fire officer at Seletar I was in the mess one Sunday morning when I noticed an AAC Beaver landing - the airfield was closed (no fire cover or ATC) at the time. I got hold of SATCO who confirmed he knew nothing about it, but when challenged the AAC Beaver flight, who were resident on the station admitted they just planned the flight without telling anyone, but couldn't see what the fuss was as they landed at unmanned strips in upcountry Malaya all the time.

They had a point I suppose, but it didn't stop them getting a rocket and told to confirm to the regs next time.

What you need is one of these, common in the USA

Pilot Controlled Lighting

This is a bit like the apocryphal story of CO 847NAS coming back to Yeovilton OOH and being told he couldn't land on the airfield......

So he landed outside the fence and got the aircraft pulled through a gate.

Joking aside....this is now biting UK mil, as airfields will not allow OOH movements for fear of recrimination if an incident happening on the field, and the cover is not there.

A good example being RAF Benson aircraft not turning up to a 24hr Afghanistan pre-deployment exercise until 0900...." Because the field did not open till 0830"

LANDING AT AN UNCONTROLLED AIRGIELD
 

Ralph.
That sounds like when you absolutely must be back at your home airfield by XXXX o clock because ATC have to go home. Never mind that the aircrew will be at work for ages longer due to debrief etc.
BV

I know someone who landed at Leeming instead of Linton in 2004/5 era.

Bob,

Nope. No OOH take off or landing, **** bust. Because the fire and rescue cover is not there, triggered by ATC.

Ralph

AIRGIELD....

Watch out KPAX you'll be getting a job as 'Media and Communications Officer' at RAF Cranwell at this rate.....!;)

Just left RAF (mil content) and flying little Aztec; delayed and, during peregrinations, picked up a service guy (further mil content) who wanted to get home to where I had to pick up some oilies.
Arrived at pick-up airfield which was clearly closed but, being out in the sticks, bright moonlit night, Bas thought: 'Soddit', had a check of runway for courting couples etc, landed, dropped off grateful pro bono pax, loaded oilies and departed thinking what a fine and practical chap he was.
A month later a telephone call to my home dispelled one's presumptions and professional disaster was only avoided by copious ass-kissing. I hadn't realised that the SATCO had his home right at the airfield :O

There maybe hard lessons to be learned - and it would NOT be the first time.

Casa Grande in Arizona is my favourite. Three aircraft maintenance businesses, two medical evacuation service companies and one recreational parachuting operation. Several businesses and a world class Warbird Airplane Restoration business are located within the Airport Industrial Park south.

I have joined the stack IMC for the ILS as #9, with a 737 and a 727 below me.

There is no tower.

Weather is an automated readout. The runway lights are not only automated, but you can adjust the brightness too!

Fox3 ... Don't tell the RAF as all our remaining flying stations will go the same way :}

Does it turn on the windsock as well?

I was once tasked to take a Gazelle helicopter from the home of RAF Air Traffic excellence to be a static display at Shrewsbury Country Show, on a Saturday. I arranged the OOH movements via Station Ops. No problem leaving in the morning. However, on the way back in, I couldn't make ATC contact. I eventually decided to make blind calls and land anyway. The ground crew met me and we put the aircraft away in the hangar.

After landing I rang Stn ops to ask what had happened. I eventually got a very angry ATCO on the phone telling me that he had actually responded to my calls and I had answered him, so as far as he was concerned, I was making it all up!

I asked him what time he had logged my arrival. It was about half an hour before I had called him..... I was still on the ground at Shrewsbury then.

On my way back to my MQ I noticed a civilian Jet Ranger parked in the farmer's field next to the married patch. I made certain enquiries with a mate who was know to do "moonlighters" with that particular aircraft (Teeteringhead will probably know who I mean). I asked him what time he had landed - it tied in exactly with the time in the ATC log for my arrival!

So the dopey ATCO had spoken to a Jet Ranger on a civilian registration, couldn't tell the difference between that and a military Gazelle from his own station as it flew past the tower at low level, right past the airfield itself, and landed outside the boundary. He just assumed it was me, locked up and went home before I even took off! :D