Skidmarks
 

Taxying in at LGW the other day, I noticed that the main taxiway has numerous skidmarks. I recall that someone once landed on it instead of the runway, but why so many marks? As a PPL I try to avoid doing this, although I once found myself on final for the taxiway at Bournemouth (hem).

Can anyone enlighten me?

DC

i think the taxiway is used as a runway when work is being done on the actual runway, although there have been a few reports of drivers landing on it in error over the years.

The parallel taxyway at LGW doubles as a stand-by runway, and has at times been used as such. No doubt more detail will be forthcoming from an LGW expert.

Exactly so, I have used it 2 or 3 times this year alone, a bit shorter than the main and no ILS but not a problem for aircraft in normal conditions, if conditions are going to be a problem they normaly leave the work and keep the main RW operational.
( I believe the A1 next to one of the Yorkshire RAF bases had skidmarks across the road and this was pilots touching down on the road for fun, then hoppng over the fence to land on the runway not sure if there is any truth in this or just apocryphal):oh:

Being pedantic, I think that technically it's a parallel runway, that's too close for simultaneous operations, that doubles as a taxiway. It's only used as a runway when the main strip is undergoing 'care and maintenance' or whatever they call it every week!

It's always referred to as 08L/26R.

FlapsOne, I think that historically it was a taxiway before it was "converted" to a "standby runway", but I stand to be corrected.

At the risk of being pedantic:

When the taxiway is used as a runway, is the runway then used as a taxiway?

Parts of the Main rwy 26L/08R can be used as a taxiway, but in practice they're usually closed for work ( this is the main time 26R/08L is used )

> ( I believe the A1 next to one of the Yorkshire RAF bases had skidmarks across the road and this was pilots touching down on the road for fun, then hoppng over the fence to land on the runway not sure if there is any truth in this or just apocryphal)



I cannot think of any CURRENT RAF base where this would be possible. Leeming is close to the A1, but there are trees alongside the A1 (and I believe the runway is largely parallel to the A1). Dishforth (home of Beverleys ;-) is/was a possibility, as was Catterick (now almost exclusively an Army Transport Depot), and I think Topcliffe always was too far from the A1. OTOH, Wittering (though not in Yorkshire), being a Harrier base is a distinct possibility!

Dishforth was the obvious candidate for the apocryphal 'skid marks'. The E/W -ish runway threshold was only just over the fence from the A1. We used to use it reasonably often on 'Pigs' but less so on the Bevs. Don't ever recall any skid mark incidents but one of our night training details took out the approach lights at our relief landing ground. This was not discovered until the following morning!!:(
The peri track, which ran parallel to the A1, was, almost certainly, responsible for a multi fatality accident at the road crossing from the Ripon road. Cars going South on the A1 could easily be mistaken for aircraft taxying and, it's assumed, that one driver did so. Easily done, as I discovered, returning from Ripon one night - only just realised what I was seeing and stopped in time :ooh:

About 20 years ago the main runway (08R/26L) was closed for resurfacing at night and 08L was in use. The surface we now know as 08L/26R was a taxiway until shortly beforehand. It was only upgraded to runway status prior to the works starting and was not generally referred to as a runway. The parallel taxiway (J) had been constructed shortly beforehand as well.

One night, during the works phase, an MD83 (as far as I can recall belonging to British Island Airways) made an approach to Gatwick. They saw a brightly lit runway, assumed it was the main runway - 08(R) which was being resurfaced, and elected to land on the paved surface to the north of it.

A British Airtours 737 taxiing out on J saw the aircraft land on the taxiway ahead of them, the skipper applied a rake of power and taxied up onto the grass away from the oncoming aircraft.

As with a lot of c0ckups, the cockpit crew compliment was not normal - there being a training captain with a poor begger on command checks on board.

And way back then, during my Gatwick days we used to hold at Mayfield VOR.....

A 330 Driver

IIRC it was a Dan Air Training captain on a BAC 111 who ignored the protests of the FO and Flt eng and landed on the taxyway allegedly subsequently sacked. Long before the days of CRM!!!!!!!

F/E on a Bac 1-11 ??!!!

08L/26R
 

During the summer the above standby runway was used because 08R/26L was being repaired overnight. No big deal apart from the SRA in poor vis, cos no one can do a talkdown like the military. Incoming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jaffa:cool:

Is it TAXY, or TAXI?? Always annoys me!!! Like HANGAR and HANGER!!

I was always taught TAXY, and HANGAR.

What I'll never forget is seeing the toutchdown marks on the taxiway!

Perfectly straddling the centrline, on the thousand foot point..... if one had been painted........

A few years ago in Dublin I saw a remarkably similar set of tyre marks on parallel taxiway, and I wondered!!

Turned out that the Aer Lingus A330 Fleet Manager had switched over the BSCU whilst taxiing and caused all wheels to lock. One of our chief guys was SNY and was not impressed. They didn't get the contract to do our training.

6milehigh...

They mustn't have the Oxford English Dictionary there on Zog:

http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/taxi?view=uk

and no return for 'taxy'.

Agree that the building is a 'hangar' and the thing you put your coat on is a 'hanger'.

TD67

In the '60's there was a Hastings base at RAF Colerne near Bath.

The aircraft was a touch unpredictable and the road adjoing the airfield came in handy on several occasions. Traffic lights were in place to leave the area clear of motorists.

Landing to the east several pilots touched down a little short leaving tyre marks on the road and two large holes in the hedge (main wheels) and a smaller one (tailwheel).

One poor soul, known thereafter as "Reg the Hedge" used the road and was awaiting the bollocking from the Station Commander outside his office when a bedraggled wretch still in flying kit and shaking was brought in to be bollocked alongside Reg. The latter Flt.Lt. having done the same but only minutes before.

Their excuses about downdrafts were dismissed out of hand.

The next pilot to use the road was the Station Commander who then decided that it was a perfectly understandable event and hardly worth mentioning!

One pilot landing in the other direction over-ran slightly and finished up with the nose hanging over the road. The co-pilot then helped direct the traffic by leaning out of the rather high cockpit.

Happy, if somewhat frightening, days!

I was a pax coming back from a holiday with the family courtesy of Britannia on the night of the Gatwick landing incident. We were overshot and landed off a second approach. Taxying (sp???) in the captain made some disparaging remarks about BA being on the grass, but by the time we reached the gate he had apparently got hold of some more reliable info and became more complimentary about the BA crew who had obviously averted a serious disaster by quickly veering off on to the grass. The incident itself was definitely not their fault. The incoming crew had been confused by the not brilliantly designed temporary lighting. It was a typical cock-up of an unfamiliar crew composition with all sorts of weird authority gradients. As I heard it they held a lot of earnest conversations during the approach about which runway they were supposed to be landing on, before finally agreeing unanimously on the wrong one. Then again, I wasn't there so I stand to be corrected.

It was BIA and it was a BAC 1-11 so there was no F/E. The captain was under training and was unable to convince the training captain that they were about to land on the taxiway.

Said training captain was absolutely convinced that the fully-lit runway that he could see was 08R and that the taxiway with green centreline lights was 08L!

Thanks chaps for the informative replies to my original question. Now I have a supplementary question;

Presumably the taxiway can only be used as a runway for easterly landings? If I recall correctly, it lines up rather nicely with the restaurant in the South Terminal - if you catch my drift...

What restaurant would that be?

Taxiway can be used for any landings east or west but I don't think it has ILS and it is no way near as long as the main runway nor as wide.

I think you may be looking here at taxiway "J" which is only used as a Taxiway, I think even that is south of the terminal but 26R/08L is definitely South.