Commercial Pilot Lands at Wrong Field
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York
Posts: 875
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Depends where you wrongly landed and how bored the tower crew is. There are plenty of controlled fields in the U. S. that see maybe a dozen flights a day, believe it or not, particularly now that GA is half-dead. It's been awhile since I was involved in anything like that, but I suspect that if you quickly call the tower or FSS and apologize, explain what caused you to make the mistake, they'll just tell you to try not to do it again.
I speak as a GA pilot, of course. I'm sure it's quite different for air-transport pilots.
Senator Inhofe, by the way, tried to buy my Falco 10 years ago. I refused to sell it to him.
I speak as a GA pilot, of course. I'm sure it's quite different for air-transport pilots.
Senator Inhofe, by the way, tried to buy my Falco 10 years ago. I refused to sell it to him.
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: India
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
By the grace of god
By the grace of God this happened in US. Had it be in the third world there would have howls of derisive post about how stupid, idiotic or incompetent Asian/African/South American pilots are!
In Asia there are plenty of airfields close to one another, eg Sangley near NAIA, Sungsan near Taoyuan and lots of small military airfields near major Chinese and Korean airports. It can happen here too but the consequences will be quite severe!
In Asia there are plenty of airfields close to one another, eg Sangley near NAIA, Sungsan near Taoyuan and lots of small military airfields near major Chinese and Korean airports. It can happen here too but the consequences will be quite severe!
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York
Posts: 875
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you're talking about the incident in Louisiana that initiated this thread, it indeed was "an airliner," albeit a turboprop short-haul aircraft. Granted, not an A380, but where do we draw the line?
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Brilissia Athens Greece
Age: 92
Posts: 8
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Landing by mistake....
Years ego ( 1989 or 1990 ) a Commertial pilot during night arroached a wrong rw in Dubai ( Sharghia) and over shouted at 50ft for the other rw .....
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: us
Posts: 93
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
If you're talking about the incident in Louisiana that initiated this thread, it indeed was "an airliner," albeit a turboprop short-haul aircraft. Granted, not an A380, but where do we draw the line?
It is simple just follow the proceedures you will land at the proper airport on the proper runway.
VFD
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 100
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
"Interesting that southeast Florida has FOUR airports with near-identical runway layouts in close proximity, but so far as I know, has not had any wrong-airport landings."
From the NTSB, an event on June 10, 1973, (sorry for the poor formatting):
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA
F S M/N PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4-0030 73/6/10 OPA LOCKA,FLA BOEING 727 CR- 0 0 8 SCHED DOM PASSG SRV AIRLINE TRANSPORT, AGE
TIME - 2110 N7625U PX- 0 0 71 UNK/NR, UNK/NR TOTAL
DAMAGE-NONE OT- 0 0 0 HOURS, UNK/NR IN TYPE,
INSTRUMENT RATED.
CLASSIFIED AS INCIDENT
NAME OF AIRPORT - OPA LOCKA
OPERATOR - UNITED AIR LINES,INC.
DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION
ATLANTA,GA MIAMI,FLA
TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION
MISCELLANEOUS LANDING: LEVEL OFF/TOUCHDOWN
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
COPILOT - FAILED TO FOLLOW APPROVED PROCEDURES,DIRECTIVES,ETC.
PILOT IN COMMAND - INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF FLIGHT
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - LANDED AT WRONG AIRPORT
REMARKS- VISUAL APCH TO LND AT MIA INTL LNDD AT OPA LOCKA RADIO SET 119.3 MIA TWR FREQ 118.3 MH.
There are dozens of "wrong" airport landings listed at:
http://www.thirdamendment.com/wrongway.html
Some say, any landing that you can walk away from is good landing
From the NTSB, an event on June 10, 1973, (sorry for the poor formatting):
NTSB Identification: MIA74IM008
14 CFR Part 121 Scheduled operation of UNITED AIR LINES INC
Aircraft: BOEING 727, registration: N7625U
14 CFR Part 121 Scheduled operation of UNITED AIR LINES INC
Aircraft: BOEING 727, registration: N7625U
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FILE DATE LOCATION AIRCRAFT DATA INJURIES FLIGHT PILOT DATA
F S M/N PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4-0030 73/6/10 OPA LOCKA,FLA BOEING 727 CR- 0 0 8 SCHED DOM PASSG SRV AIRLINE TRANSPORT, AGE
TIME - 2110 N7625U PX- 0 0 71 UNK/NR, UNK/NR TOTAL
DAMAGE-NONE OT- 0 0 0 HOURS, UNK/NR IN TYPE,
INSTRUMENT RATED.
CLASSIFIED AS INCIDENT
NAME OF AIRPORT - OPA LOCKA
OPERATOR - UNITED AIR LINES,INC.
DEPARTURE POINT INTENDED DESTINATION
ATLANTA,GA MIAMI,FLA
TYPE OF ACCIDENT PHASE OF OPERATION
MISCELLANEOUS LANDING: LEVEL OFF/TOUCHDOWN
PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
COPILOT - FAILED TO FOLLOW APPROVED PROCEDURES,DIRECTIVES,ETC.
PILOT IN COMMAND - INADEQUATE SUPERVISION OF FLIGHT
MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - LANDED AT WRONG AIRPORT
REMARKS- VISUAL APCH TO LND AT MIA INTL LNDD AT OPA LOCKA RADIO SET 119.3 MIA TWR FREQ 118.3 MH.
There are dozens of "wrong" airport landings listed at:
http://www.thirdamendment.com/wrongway.html
Some say, any landing that you can walk away from is good landing
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York
Posts: 875
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
It is simple just follow the proceedures you will land at the proper airport on the proper runway.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In a far better place
Posts: 2,480
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No excuse whatsoever for landing at the wrong airport. Errors such as this happen when there is breakdown of SOPs and CRM. I've never seen an FCOM that had a statemen to the effect that if a visual approach is to be accomplished then naviads when available shall be tuned and identified as a backup and confirmation.
I remember years back a CAL with an FMS landed at the wrong airport at Corpus Christi in CAVOK conditions. The excuses and justifications were just beyond belief.
Yes... Jeppy needs to insert notes about airports that may be confused with intended airports of landing to help preclude such incidences.
I remember years back a CAL with an FMS landed at the wrong airport at Corpus Christi in CAVOK conditions. The excuses and justifications were just beyond belief.
Yes... Jeppy needs to insert notes about airports that may be confused with intended airports of landing to help preclude such incidences.
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York
Posts: 875
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No excuse whatsoever for landing at the wrong airport. Errors such as this happen when there is breakdown of SOPs and CRM. I've never seen an FCOM that had a statemen to the effect that if a visual approach is to be accomplished then naviads when available shall be tuned and identified as a backup and confirmation. I remember years back a CAL with an FMS landed at the wrong airport at Corpus Christi in CAVOK conditions.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In a far better place
Posts: 2,480
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Sorry Stepwilk… I did not realize you were sitting in front of your Microsoft Flight Simulator or Play Station. Anyway here goes.
SOP = Standard Operating Procedures
CRM = Crew Resource Management
FCOM = Flight Crew Operations Manual
CAL = Continental Airlines
CAVOK = Ceiling and Visibility OK (can’t defined OK any further than OK.. OK?)
Jeppy – Jeppessen
DS = well from the tone of your post Stepwik, you can define that anyway that best suits your personality
.
All the best from the Pompous Alphabet Soup.
SOP = Standard Operating Procedures
CRM = Crew Resource Management
FCOM = Flight Crew Operations Manual
CAL = Continental Airlines
CAVOK = Ceiling and Visibility OK (can’t defined OK any further than OK.. OK?)
Jeppy – Jeppessen
DS = well from the tone of your post Stepwik, you can define that anyway that best suits your personality
.All the best from the Pompous Alphabet Soup.
Last edited by captjns; 13th Sep 2011 at 07:37.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 2,515
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Originally Posted by pattern_is_full
Interesting that southeast Florida has FOUR airports with near-identical runway layouts in close proximity, but so far as I know, has not had any wrong-airport landings.
KMIA, KTMB, KOPF, and KFLL all have east-west parallels with a crossing NW/SE runway.
KMIA, KTMB, KOPF, and KFLL all have east-west parallels with a crossing NW/SE runway.
She only missed her airport by 30 or so miles. I suspect she did not receive a passing grade for that lesson.
On a related note, I've been in the situation where I've been issued a landing clearance by a controller at the wrong tower. Luckily, that was quickly rectified. Since then, I've been extra careful to remember to say the name of the facility I'm contacting, instead of just the position. ie "Miami tower, N123..." instead of just "Tower, N123..."
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: fl
Posts: 2,525
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
One of our airliners was trying to land at El Paso and ended up at the military field just north. Realizing his mistake he took off again and landed at El Paso. He got in more trouble for his unauthorized take off than his original mistake.
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 938
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Akali Dal - Just to clarify my background, I am not a GA pilot but an Airbus A320 Captain and 'Check Airman' (called something different here in the UK) who has been on the Airbus for more than 10 years. Before that I flew various other commercial types and before that I was in the military. Like I said, there are numerous dreadful errors out there waiting to beset us all, and I would be the first to say it could happen to me. I am therefore doing my best to ensure it does not! In recent years, for example, there have been countless examples of very senior pilots getting lost on taxiways, entering runways without permission or taking off and landing on the taxiways instead of using the runways provided! Virtually every one of the pilots involved were competent, capable individuals with solid training records but who 'lost the plot' for a small but critical period of time. Thus far, I have avoided being involved myself in one of these incidents, but that just means the statistics are stacking up against me! As I said previously, half the battle is recognising that we are all capable of this happening to us. Thereafter we have to provide conscious mechanisms to make sure it does not.
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Europe
Posts: 256
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wasn't Pinnacle going to drop the Colgan name more than a year ago?
Did a hop in one of their Saabs a few weeks ago, it was Colgan operating as United Express. The biggest issue was that the air conditioner operates only when the engine is on, and even then it is underpowered.
The plane came in about 25 minutes prior to departure, and by the time we boarded at 2:30 pm, the temperature inside the cabin was easily 100°F with the shades down. It took about 15 minutes of flight for the temperature to drop a little, and it was still hot when we landed 10 minutes later.
The poor flight attendent was sweating profusely and looked and acted exhausted. Got a look at the pilots later in the terminal, they were in a similar condition. How can anyone keep up performance after a couple of such hops?
Did a hop in one of their Saabs a few weeks ago, it was Colgan operating as United Express. The biggest issue was that the air conditioner operates only when the engine is on, and even then it is underpowered.
The plane came in about 25 minutes prior to departure, and by the time we boarded at 2:30 pm, the temperature inside the cabin was easily 100°F with the shades down. It took about 15 minutes of flight for the temperature to drop a little, and it was still hot when we landed 10 minutes later.
The poor flight attendent was sweating profusely and looked and acted exhausted. Got a look at the pilots later in the terminal, they were in a similar condition. How can anyone keep up performance after a couple of such hops?
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In a far better place
Posts: 2,480
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I agree, it’s not hard to get lost at a complex airport especially during night and rainy conditions with poorly marked taxiways or no markers for that matter. There have been times where I sought the assistance of the ground controller to help me find my way rather than creating havoc or conflicts. The controller may be irritated, but I remind him that at the end of the day his help will save us both a lot of unnecessary paperwork.
I still find it difficult to understand how an error in landing at a wrong airport can occur if proper briefings are accomplished, available naviads are tuned and used as a reference during visual approaches.
It’s a fact that a breakdown in disciplines do result in disastrous outcomes. Case of the CRJ departing Lexington KY on the wrong runway a couple of years back resulting in deaths at the hands of competent airmen. No final compass check after taking the runway… something so simple. Another needless tragedy was when an American Airlines B757 crew ran a perfectly good jet into mountain crest because they were out to lunch… Not verifying the waypoint of the fix they wanted to fly to for the approach.
Is anybody impervious to mistakes? Heck no!!! But as competently trained and qualified air crews we exercise CRM, SOPs along with situational awareness and proper disciplines to reduce such events that may result in a tea and biscuit fest with the CP or even worse premature death. At the end of the day passengers paying money for safe passage from Point A to Point B want to hear the line catchall phrase, “Yes… it can happen to anyone.” Check Airmen can't stress enough the importance of following porper procedures as set forth during training.
I still find it difficult to understand how an error in landing at a wrong airport can occur if proper briefings are accomplished, available naviads are tuned and used as a reference during visual approaches.
It’s a fact that a breakdown in disciplines do result in disastrous outcomes. Case of the CRJ departing Lexington KY on the wrong runway a couple of years back resulting in deaths at the hands of competent airmen. No final compass check after taking the runway… something so simple. Another needless tragedy was when an American Airlines B757 crew ran a perfectly good jet into mountain crest because they were out to lunch… Not verifying the waypoint of the fix they wanted to fly to for the approach.
Is anybody impervious to mistakes? Heck no!!! But as competently trained and qualified air crews we exercise CRM, SOPs along with situational awareness and proper disciplines to reduce such events that may result in a tea and biscuit fest with the CP or even worse premature death. At the end of the day passengers paying money for safe passage from Point A to Point B want to hear the line catchall phrase, “Yes… it can happen to anyone.” Check Airmen can't stress enough the importance of following porper procedures as set forth during training.
BOAC landed a Britannia at Cartierville, the GA airfield about 3 nm NE of Montreals' Dorval Int. Airport, with parallel runways in the same direction. The Capt. ( one of the 'nicer' North Atlantic Barons ) just taxied around and took off again and landed at Dorval, and when the stuff hit the fan he remarked " I thought least said, soonest mended " !! but ........... a student pilot flying solo in a Cessna decided that BOAC couldn't be wrong ......... so ........ he hung a left and landed at Dorval !!
The Flight Manager threatened the next 'wrong airport' landing Captain with the sack, then promptly landed at the nearby USAF Base near Manchester Ringway - he didn't sack himself.
The Flight Manager threatened the next 'wrong airport' landing Captain with the sack, then promptly landed at the nearby USAF Base near Manchester Ringway - he didn't sack himself.