Thomson 737 lands on taxiway at Paphos?
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Planet Earth for a short visit
Posts: 614
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Other factors to be considered before damning the crew out of hand,
3 hour delay
End of a long Summer Season
Fatigue issues, especially as Thomson have been scheduling Sharm all Summer on impossible to achieve schedule times, to reduce crew costs but causing repeated discretion usage.
There is a cost to safety that can only be borne by slighty smaller profit margins.
3 hour delay
End of a long Summer Season
Fatigue issues, especially as Thomson have been scheduling Sharm all Summer on impossible to achieve schedule times, to reduce crew costs but causing repeated discretion usage.
There is a cost to safety that can only be borne by slighty smaller profit margins.
Prior to modification of the taxiway markings, Both KSEA and KLAS had some taxiway/runway visual ID problems too. I seem to remember there being some caution notes somewhere in the Jepp pages as well.
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: In a big shed in Yorkshire
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Very good res. satellite pic here if you zoom in, which shows the layout;
Paphos International airport | Marathounda Google Satellite Map
Paphos International airport | Marathounda Google Satellite Map
Well do you know exactly visual perspective from the tower?
It is already a fact the crew made a mistake, however sometimes someone else can stop the holes lining up. If the tower can see the runway, an aircraft lined up incorrectly will look wrong to the controller. It certainly isn't the controllers fault, and indeed many controllers have saved crews bacon in the past.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In a far better place
Posts: 2,480
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Curious to know if a contributing factor may have been the runway markings, numbers, piano keys, and centerline were washed out from the light of the sun. Was the taxiway ever used as a temorary runway where the numbers were never properly erased.
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Earth
Posts: 19
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
This is such a shame.
Technology exists that could all but eliminate these occurrences. Certification acts as a barrier, acting in the opposite sense from which it should. Airlines are unable or unwilling to pay for the equipment. Regulators stand idly by when they should be mandating said equipment.
Will we have to experience a loss on the scale of Tenerife before runway advisory systems mature and become a mandated fit? It seems it might be just "the cost of doing business" in the airline industry and that it's easier to keep on blaming crews rather then asking some hard, inconvenient or expensive questions.
Technology exists that could all but eliminate these occurrences. Certification acts as a barrier, acting in the opposite sense from which it should. Airlines are unable or unwilling to pay for the equipment. Regulators stand idly by when they should be mandating said equipment.
Will we have to experience a loss on the scale of Tenerife before runway advisory systems mature and become a mandated fit? It seems it might be just "the cost of doing business" in the airline industry and that it's easier to keep on blaming crews rather then asking some hard, inconvenient or expensive questions.
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Too far from the equator
Posts: 745
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I am not being flippant , and I feel very sorry for the crew involved , but nobody / nothing got hurt , and I doubt very much whether they would have landed on a taxiway if there had been another aircraft on it .
Its been a few years since I was operating in/out of Paphos and cannot remember where the Papis are for 27 - are they between the runway and the taxiway ? ie Left of the runway , and right of the taxiway ?
Its been a few years since I was operating in/out of Paphos and cannot remember where the Papis are for 27 - are they between the runway and the taxiway ? ie Left of the runway , and right of the taxiway ?
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Why would u care??
Posts: 85
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks for the google map link Forum Old Bart.
Many known factors could have contributed to this unfortunate incident. Though I must say it's not too difficult for someone to mess this one up looking at the close up pic.
Poor lads for sure, and yet another reminder for us, to include another cross check on your own before making a full visual, usually short cut/time savings approach and landing.
Many known factors could have contributed to this unfortunate incident. Though I must say it's not too difficult for someone to mess this one up looking at the close up pic.
Poor lads for sure, and yet another reminder for us, to include another cross check on your own before making a full visual, usually short cut/time savings approach and landing.
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: UAE
Posts: 89
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Did he land it in the touchdown zone ? Did he track the center line and land right on the white center line paint ? Did he come over the threshold and look to the right and wonder when Paphos had built that lovely Parallel runway ?
Very Poor Airmanship....no Runway numbers...no touchdown markings...no piano keys....no center line...and a new Parallel runway right out the window thats not on any charts and wasnt there last time haha 2 Pilots miss all the visual cues and land on a Taxi-way...I`d be afraid to get on-board with these 2 "Professionals"
Very Poor Airmanship....no Runway numbers...no touchdown markings...no piano keys....no center line...and a new Parallel runway right out the window thats not on any charts and wasnt there last time haha 2 Pilots miss all the visual cues and land on a Taxi-way...I`d be afraid to get on-board with these 2 "Professionals"
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Middle East
Posts: 25
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Being another (ex) frequent flyer out of PFO I can admit that when on a visual approach on 29 at late afternoon near sunset, it is easy to get confused and align on the parallel taxiway which is placed quite near the rwy. On the other hand, these are considerations which should be addressed if a proper briefing is conducted plus all the other backups like localizer indication etc.
It's not my intention to either condemn or justify. At least this unfortunate but in the end "harmless" incident should drive the Cyprus DCA to add an awareness note in the AIP info for PFO that a parallel taxiway exists and crews should be cautious. I don't remember if such a note exists on approach plates currently in force.
My two cents
It's not my intention to either condemn or justify. At least this unfortunate but in the end "harmless" incident should drive the Cyprus DCA to add an awareness note in the AIP info for PFO that a parallel taxiway exists and crews should be cautious. I don't remember if such a note exists on approach plates currently in force.
My two cents
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: York
Posts: 14
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What a pity I am in the garden.
If the Flight Engineer had been in the seat, [I know the 737 never carried one], the throttles would have been up to climb power, a call of 'Overshoot' would have been made, and the Pilot Flying would have been clearly informed that he made a cat's arse of the approach and must do better. We are now the size of a packet of 20 cigs, but how many accidents did we prevent when we were operational in that super middle seat.