Boeing 747 Dreamlifter lands at wrong airport
Nemo Me Impune Lacessit
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The first indication that the take off was well within the capability of the aircraft/runway etc. is that Boeing didn't send a B747 test pilot over to fly it out and left it to Atlas. From the charts it looks as though they could have lifted about 280 tons out from 6000', assuming nil slope, nil wind, +10C, Flap 20.
The first indication that the take off was well within the capability of the aircraft/runway etc. is that Boeing didn't send a B747 test pilot over to fly it out and left it to Atlas.
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Correct Pug. For those numbers I quoted the V speeds fall into the shaded area and when checking it gives a Vmcg of122kts and a VminVr of 125.
A pure freighter has a Max ZFW of 288tons, a Pax is 244tons Max, this was a converted pax machine.
A pure freighter has a Max ZFW of 288tons, a Pax is 244tons Max, this was a converted pax machine.
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Yeah, the laws of physics don't apply to test pilots
Last edited by parabellum; 21st Nov 2013 at 21:25.
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QF attempted to land a 742 at Hughes Airport in LA many years ago, the locals renamed it 'Qantas Field'.
Not too strenuous to tune up the ILS, can save a lot of meetings with the boss.
Not too strenuous to tune up the ILS, can save a lot of meetings with the boss.
The fact that there were no casualties and no damage caused by the wrong-airport landing, nor the fact that this is not the first landing at the wrong airport by a professional flight crew, does not in any way diminish the need for an investigation into the cause of the incident, and needed changes for safely improvement.
We all make mistakes every day, the mistakes I make have not YET been quite as spectacular.
Then again, simply getting airborne in said an aircraft is pretty spectacular. There'll always be a little bit of "tall poppy syndrome" with these sort of incidents.
Then again, simply getting airborne in said an aircraft is pretty spectacular. There'll always be a little bit of "tall poppy syndrome" with these sort of incidents.
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Yeah, the laws of physics don't apply to test pilots
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Not too strenuous to tune up the ILS, can save a lot of meetings with the boss
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wrong runway
I flew with a guy at ******** back in the late 70's. He was on a crew that landed at Biggs AFB instead of El Paso, the month before. It was a pretty funny story. He claimed that there was only one set of runway lights on and they can be controlled from the El Paso tower. They discovered pretty quick what they had done and the controller cleared them to 180 and takeoff the way they came in. The FA's were dinging them and asking "did we land at Biggs?" The Captain denied it and made a PA saying that due to construction they had landed on a part of the airport that was not connected to the terminal, thus neccesitating a take off and landing on another runway. They parked at the gate and the captain told the engineer to erase the voice and data recorders. The agent ask them why they were late and the Captain made something up. They turned around and headed back to DFW.
The only reason they got caught was because of ACARS. They were out/off/on/off/in . They got a few weeks off, Captain more than the fo or fe.
Company said they would have got nothing except for the cover up. The T/O from Biggs was a big mistake because taking off without a dispatch release is a violation of OpSpecs and FAR 121. Captain was lucky to get no certificate action. This was before NASA forms and FAA/Airline issues were often handled over the phone with no paperwork.
The only reason they got caught was because of ACARS. They were out/off/on/off/in . They got a few weeks off, Captain more than the fo or fe.
Company said they would have got nothing except for the cover up. The T/O from Biggs was a big mistake because taking off without a dispatch release is a violation of OpSpecs and FAR 121. Captain was lucky to get no certificate action. This was before NASA forms and FAA/Airline issues were often handled over the phone with no paperwork.
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When I lived in Melbourne in 1985 a Garuda 747 landed at Essendon (YMEN) R26, 3,600ft, instead of Melbourne (YMML) R27, 7500ft, which was 5 miles away. There was a massive strip-out before it could take off again.
ATSB report:
http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/31237/aair198501651.pdf
ATSB report:
http://www.atsb.gov.au/media/31237/aair198501651.pdf
'Owly' you may want to amend yr comments there buddy, they are completely incorrect. The machine in question made an incorrect App to RWY 35 @EN, not 26 & it never landed so there was no 'strip out' of anything for a T/off. The report you linked shows this.
Just as a side note the then American President LBJ visioned Melbourne before Tullamarine Airport was opened (1970) back in the Mid 60's & Airforce one a B707 back then landed on Rwy 26 I believe causing some damage to the rwy pavement, I think at the time it was the largest A/C to have had arrived at EN.
Just as a side note the then American President LBJ visioned Melbourne before Tullamarine Airport was opened (1970) back in the Mid 60's & Airforce one a B707 back then landed on Rwy 26 I believe causing some damage to the rwy pavement, I think at the time it was the largest A/C to have had arrived at EN.
I think the Atlas pilots were probably in the Teamsters union (yo' Vinnie, youse gotta problem wit dat?). Often these unusual missions are flown by management check airmen who may have a union seniority number but no active union representation.
Dreamlifter/LCF flights are no longer particularly 'unusual' - they're up to about 100 flights per month (4 LCFs so almost daily per airplane, typical leg ~ 6 hours). They are busy supporting the 787 (10/month rate early next year)
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With so many airfields in such close proximity, was it only a matter of time?
Curious to know why would Jabara have its approach and runway lights on with an aircraft on approach to a neighbouring airport. A Swiss cheese if ever I saw one.
Curious to know why would Jabara have its approach and runway lights on with an aircraft on approach to a neighbouring airport. A Swiss cheese if ever I saw one.
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Curious to know why would Jabara have its approach and runway lights on with an aircraft on approach to a neighbouring airport. A Swiss cheese if ever I saw one.