Belgian Jetairfly lined up for taxiway landing at CMN (not CAS)
 

According to the Belgian newspaper "Het Nieuwsblad" of today a 737 of Jetairfly with 179 people on board caused some consternation on approach to CAS on 1 March 2009.

Apparently the Belgian 737 was approaching the taxiway in stead of RWY 35R. At the time reportedly 4 other aircraft were holding on that taxiway and the crew of one of those radioed the approaching jet that they were not bound for the dedicated RWY. At a height of less than 200 feet the Jetairfly Boeing was reported to have initiated a go around following which an uneventful landing was made.

Text in Dutch:

"Belgisch vliegtuig boort zich bijna in vier jets

Het scheelde maar een haar of een Belgisch vliegtuig was in Marokko zwaar gecrasht. Het stevende af op de verkeerde landingsbaan en raakte bijna vier andere vliegtuigen.
Boven de Marokkaanse stad Casablanca dook op zondag 1maart om 8.52uur een door Jet4You gecharterd vliegtuig van Jetairfly uit de wolken. De Boeing737 was vertrokken uit Charleroi en moest landen op landingsbaan 35R. Maar het toestel hing per ongeluk boven de verkeerde baan, waar vier vliegtuigen stonden te wachten.

'Go around, je zit ter hoogte van de taxibaan!', schreeuwde de piloot van een van die toestellen toen de Boeing nog 60meter boven de grond hing, zo schrijft de Marokkaanse krant L'Opinion. De piloot trok snel op, maakte een rondje en landde veilig op de juiste landingsbaan. 'Je hebt zonet de natie gered', klonk het vanuit de verkeerstoren. En heel wat mensenlevens, want alleen al op het Jetairfly-toestel zaten 179 mensen.

Volgens L'Opinion dient de Marokkaanse luchthavenautoriteit ONDA klacht in tegen de Belgische piloot. 'Hij heeft een zware fout begaan. Een catastrofe is enkel vermeden dankzij de waakzaamheid van de luchtverkeersleiding', zegt topman Abdelhanine Bouallou.

Maar bij Jetairfly hebben ze geen weet van een klacht. 'In het officiële rapport staat niet dat de luchtverkeersleiding de ramp voorkwam', zegt woordvoerder Hans Vanhaelemeesch. 'Het toestel kwam op veilige hoogte uit het wolkendek. Toen zag de piloot dat zijn visuele waarnemingen niet overeenstemden met de parameters. Hij heeft toen, zoals voorgeschreven, een go-around gemaakt. Zijn alertheid en ervaring hebben daarvoor gezorgd.'

De ervaren piloot Filip Van Rossem maakt evenwel brandhout van die redenering. 'Het is niet mogelijk dat de parameters niet kloppen. Alleen bij een visual approach kan je je zo vergissen. Dat is nog al gebeurd, zeker als de taxibaan even breed is als de landingsbaan.'

Jetairfly heeft een intern veiligheidsrapport overgemaakt aan de Belgische luchtvaartautoriteiten, maar behoudt het vertrouwen in zijn piloot."

Was it the first and only one?

Nope, and it won't be the last.

Won't be the last similar case... almost did it myself one day on a visual to a cetain Greek Island. Since then, my visual callout includes the position of runway against taxiways.
However, I'm quite sure they wouldn't have landed on top of 4 aircraft...:\
Now I'm not so familiar with CAS, but does that runway have an ILS or were they shooting a VOR approach?
Anyway, good call from the aircraft on ground.:ok:

Jetairfly denies there has been any problem with that landing at Casablanca :

7s7 Monde - Jetairfly dément un incident aérien supposé à Casablanca (745893)

Perhaps there was not a problem with the final landing, but there seems to have been with the initial approach.

I saw something similar at Murcia, when a low G/A was made by an a/c lined up for 23R the RWY to the north of the terminal and still under conscruction. This was from a straight in VOR/visual. I can't remember if sun was a factor, but on a modern GPS/EFIS a/c I'm sure the Map would not have been lined up; and as the RWY was not open it surely could not have been in the FMC data base, thus the TK line must have shown an offset. In a non-GPS a/c this late minute Map X-check can not be made (unless on ILS), but in a GPS a/c it can be made from any approach.
However, the spacing between Rwy & Taxi way is so small that it would probably not be noticeable.

Shades of LGW & AGP many moons ago. Were there any confusing NOTAMS? and was the crew visual from far out, but not looking out?

From Aviation Herald

On a visual approach a backup with instruments is mandatory, especially if the weather is not cavok! :uhoh:

Easy to do at CAS, as the parallel taxiway was once the only runway...even more easy to do when landing on 17L, off of a VOR approach.
Not the first time and won't be the last, I expect.

Are you sure that it was CAS and not CMN? :hmm: CAS has been closed and not in use for a while.

IATA-Code: CAS
ICAO-Code: GMMC
Location: Casablanca
Airport: Casablanca-Anfa
Country: Morocco

IATA-Code: CMN
ICAO-Code: GMMN
Location: Casablanca
Airport: Casablanca-Mohammed V
Country: Morocco

Also, it is actually the VOR DME Rwy17R the one with a "Final approach track (166) offset 2 degrees from rwy centerline (168)".
:ok:

Of course, it was Casa Mohammed V, ie CMN.

Opps, my bad...CMN it is.:\

One of those shades of Gatwick:

ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-2Y5 9H-ABA London-Gatwick Airport (LGW)

Shades of Aeroflot at BCN (they were very diligent and made a G/A when noticed that twy T was occupied, but landed on it successfully the second time), and of Continental at EWR.

Thanks for clearing up the confusion CAS - CMN: my fault I'm afraid.....:O

Don't get the point that the once only RWY is now the TWY. If I understand correctly there are 2 RWYs in use at CMN: 17L/35R and 17R/35L. The latter one is the newest, but according to the cited news report the Jetairfly 737 was bound to land on 35R, but instead was heading for the TWY, which is closest to the terminal area. So, that doesn't look like approaching an obsolete RWY, now TWY.

Was't there also an Air Canada 747 that did 3 GAs at Gatwick for 26R as the pilot didn't believe his instruments. He was subsequently sacked

flyerian

And there was the BAe146 landing on the taxiway when cleared for the LGW 26R, well, it was dark, perhaps that was the excuse...

The taxiway at CMN was only used once as a rwy,when 35 (now 35R)was being resurfaced.
As far as i remember it was never in use as an active rwy.
CMN has two ils (35R&L) down to CAT3.

146 drivers would never do such a thing! It was in fact a BAC 1-11

gatwick | 1988 | 1017 | Flight Archive

Taxiway Takeoff
 

Anyone knows details of a 'Taxiway' Takeoff by Korean 747 in Alaska?

Was it this one? An EVA Air taxiway take-off at Anchorage on its way to Taipei...

FAA studies EVA taxiway take-off-22/11/2005-Flight International