SWA lands at wrong airport.
 

http://www.kspr.com/news/local/southwest-jet-bound-for-branson-lands-at-wrong-airport
 

One of the most common causes of incidents and accidents in commercial aviation is still a lack of situational awareness, whether on the ground (runway incursions / taxiway errors) or in the air (landing at the wrong airport / CFIT etc).

Technology that could significantly reduce the frequency of these incidents / accidents already exists. It just needs to be integrated with the existing systems in commercial aircraft. Should the airline industry / manufacturers / regulators be doing more to address this issue?

On my GA glass panel (G1000), it throws up a depiction of the runway, it would be terribly obvious if I was aligning at the wrong airport, this type up technology should be easily introduced to transport aircraft.

They did design the B-737 for short fields, but who knew someone would test it here? Gotta admire the stopping capability though. I guess we'll find out about takeoff performance in due time. Successful stop, but not by much it seems. Whew! As if we really needed yet another reminder regarding error trapping procedures...

M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport Airnav

If it's a series 300 (hard to tell from the photo) the Boeing performance charts indicate that it should be able to take off in about 3,600ft if it's at minimum weight. See; http://www.boeing.com/assets/pdf/com...ps/737sec3.pdf

The runway at Branson is 3,738ft so departure is probably feasible if the weather and runway conditions are favourable.

This could have ended in disaster. airnav.com is worth checking out for this airfield , it has a warning about sharp dropoffs!

I can imagine that there will be a couple of vacancies soon at LUV.

Having watched a news report, I think it's a series 700 so would need slightly less runway than a series 300 if it departs at minimum weight.

Likewise, my car has an inexpensive GPS, it would be obvious if I turned on the wrong street. But many airliners still don't have GPS and some companies have turned GPS off in these new fangled electronic flight kits because they are afraid the pilots might use it to crosscheck their position in the air or on the ground.

Some current planes have ADS-B installed with its own GPS that gives the folks on the ground your exact position but doesn't display it to the pilots.

Also, some airline primary flight displays have heading up, others have track up. The planes with track up don't match what you see out the window, so with a crosswind you have to rotate things in your mind.

I've sure looked at the wrong piece of pavement before but like most of us have always been able to resolve any discrepancy prior to landing. Apparently the folks who recently landed the Boeing Dreamlifter at the wrong airport in Wichita felt that the picture displayed on their PFD's was incorrect and that they were looking at the correct runway.

As long as the CVR doesn't have them talking about fatigue and commuting I think they will be OK. At least we all know what will be in CQ training in 2015.

Both airfields are just down the road from me.

The one in question is actually attached to College of the Ozarks. Overshoot and Undershoot accidents are almost universally fatal at KPLK - The outcome here was most fortunate.

The link from Porrohman had -700 charts and it looks like it should be flyable.

Aircraft in question is a Boeing 737-7H4(WL) - cn 32527, Registration N272WN

some more news. This has an eyewitness report including a video in which the announcement of the FO or captain can be heard.

Southwest Airlines Flight Lands At The Wrong Airport In Branson - www.ktts.com

Here an overview of M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (PLK/KPLK)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...y_KTrimble.jpg

and this picture shows the original destination: Branson airport
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...y_KTrimble.jpg

Pretty weird to land on the wrong airport.
Runways are in different directions (12/30 for M Graham Clark, 14/32 for Branson) and not in line with eachother.

This is a map showing both airports. Distance between both runways is 6,55 miles

https://mapsengine.google.com/map/ed...Y.kg8xoa7ZtP6w

Not only a failure for the drivers, but a failure of the entire system.

SW has upgraded all of their 737-700's to glass cockpit, so who know what was up in the box.

Does PLK even have lights?

What about ATC? Didnt anyone notice one of the blips that should be over here, is over there?

No wonder the FAA wants to keep the passenger electronics off, people would be pressing the call buttons saying shouldnt we be landing over there?

I know, its just a news focus, after the Dreamlifter landed at the wrong airport, now every time an airplane lands at the wrong airport, it makes the news... :}

aircraft came to a halt 40 feet from the edge of a cliff
 

Forbes.com has a story saying

Southwest Airlines Plane Lands At Wrong Airport, Almost Careens Off Cliff - Forbes

Amazing that so many comments have been made on those recordings that the landing was safe (and in the words of the Sheriff that there are no problems landing the aircraft there). It's anything but safe to land at the wrong airport.

Let's see all the responses flood in now about how good a job they did of landing on such a short field, rather than acknowledging how much blind luck they had that the field was just long enough, strong enough and that they didn't hit any other aircraft or close-in obstacles that they would not have expected to be in the way. I hope this begins to wake some of the US forum members up that it's not just the rest of the world that has pilots who lack basic skills or attitudes and also that a gung-ho "I can see it, shut everything off" approach (no pun intended) is foolhardy - I'm all for hand flying and practicing raw data or visual flying, but the PNF should at least have some navaids (map where available) and FD to make sure the practicing PF is not fouling it up. Automation aversion is every bit as dangerous as automation dependency.

On the plus side, I'm glad no harm has been done to anyone. I hope whoever flies it out gets suitably rewarded with a big risk bonus - even empty with just a thimble of fuel, that's an awfully short TORA.

Apart from the pilots having made a gross error, considering the frequency of events of this type, maybe it is time the US look carefully at monitoring the flightpath and not giving early landing clearances like in some other countries they practise.

Resultant would surely be a more aware ATC of where the aircraft are not just where they say their are and going to. Monitoring the aircraft/pilots and ensuring the plane lining up to the correct runway and advocating if they are not sounds like a standard job for ATC.

I vote for a rethink in the US ATC system procedures for one....

I agree, Skyjob, that there are some apparent US ATC issues that may help, but ultimately navigation is not their responsibility unless providing vectors. Nor is clearing an aircraft to land without seeing it intrinsically wrong - it has to be done whenever the cloud or vis are low at every airport, after all. Clearing an aircraft to land while there is traffic ahead of them or still on the runway is damned stupid, but that's a separate issue on another thread.

As a passenger, how does one know how serious the event was?

"the flight attendants are now passing out peanuts liberally"

:mad:

Edit:

shuffler, ATC should know and respond when an AC is that far off vector or approach. What did ATC the ac was doing?

1stspotter, before the Pprune Air crash & Invetigation mob really get going, 14 versus 12 etc is not that far off. When you quote runways apart by "6,55", do you mean, 6,55, 655, er, six thousand and 55 (you get the drift) but 6.55 would possibly appear on the photoshoot. Finally, both photos show the airfields to appear remarkably similar at first glance. We will soon hear from the cuddle-gang that the pilots should be congratulated on saving the hull and pax, told that "there by the grace"............etc, etc. Dear oh dear. Only just into 2014 & here we go again ! I have said it many times on this forum; until we get back to proper pilot training selection testing , proper pilot training, airline funded training & therefore, proper selection, this is going to happen over and over again.

Landflap,

These runways were quite a bit off from each other. I would have to look at the STAR, but this was quite the pooch.

Then again, this is MO, so its not like there is a whole lot of electricity going on for confusion with background lighting.

This ac was headed to HOU, damn, if they got confused here, where would they have gone there?

Yes, this brings up the quals issue, pay issue, and all of the other cost issues that cheap airfare dictates. As was said in "Men in Black", there is always some looming disaster, its just that the public doesnt know about it...