Home > U.S. Cathay Pacific Airliner Makes Emergency Landing in Aleutians
 

Noticed this before and was curious as to how you handle a 777-300 with just shy of 300 on board, at an airport on an island with less than 180 active military personnel there?

Looking at Googlemaps, it doesn't look like there's even room to manoeuvre a 777, let alone the facilities to handle it?

Shemya used to be a base for RC-135s (maybe it still is, don't know), so there's room for a 777. Once stopped there on a Reeve Electra during the Cold War - photography verboten, and keep the window shades down.

From I Dream of Jeannie (1965):

I Dream of Jeannie (1965) s02e14 Episode Script | SS

After a couple decades of flying the NOPAC, I think I've been able to see Shemya perhaps three times, it is usually covered in clouds.

Remember the old pre-GPS 'abeam Shemya' check? Some said it was introduced as a result of the KAL 007 shootdown and early INS systems that would sequence waypoints even when well off course.

I'm sure that even earlier you would check abeam any navaid you could find on an overwater route.

Delta put a MD11 in there back in the mid 90's. No problems and they even had a tow bar for the KC10 that worked.

just left c.a. 1915 UTC towards Alaska ;)

Flightradar24.com - Live flight tracker!

AA had a 777 divert there. Enroute they were updated about a NOTAM describing half the runway was closed for WIP(work in progress). No problem since it was more than long enough.


At some point, much closer, they were informed that half was closed down...laterally. Full length was available, just narrow.


75' wide. Width of the gear is approx. 40', leaving 17.5' on both sides.

Half of a 10,000 foot long runway more than long enough for a Triple? :confused:

Must have been a Navy pilot. :ok:

Landed Anchorage 2:02PM Alaska time.

Airbubba - required landing distance is 5000' at 436,000 lbs.


Landing roll at MLW is approx. 3600' w/max braking.


Aimpoint, airspeed.

Thanks for the numbers, like I said. ;)

I always got a little nervous watching 777's operate off the 'B' runway at NRT before it was lengthened. It was 7152 feet long before the farmer died or moved.

Video made by a passenger as they first learn that there's a problem, then hear they might have to ditch, then instructed to put on the life vests, then told that they'll be landing on Shemya, and finally land. The tension is obvious as word of the possible ditching is first relayed, as is the relief when the passengers hear that they won't have to ditch (about 2:58).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KivHg...ature=youtu.be

Substitute plane and fresh crew flown to Anchorage, and passengers now in LA.

https://twitter.com/eth_will

^^^^ Twitter has an image of CX884 doing a 180 at the end of the runway at Shemya, in very low cloud/fog, before departing.

I was wondering if the 777 could turn around on the runway since the parallel taxiway doesn't go all the way to the end. I've often had PASY as an ETOPS alternate but hopefully will never land there.

One of the pictures on the Twitter link that you shared has a good picture of the 777 flaperon that is in the news on another thread.

Which reminds me of a story of one of my mates who was trying to land at Billund in the middle of the night in a blinding snow storm. For those of you who do not know Billund, the runway is/was 27/09 and about 10,000 feet long.

The surface wind was somewhere around 350/30G35.

ATC greeted him with the news that they had managed to clear half of the runway for his arrival.

Rod got into the charts and figured that they could land quite happily in half the length and started an ILS approach.

He asked ATC which half they had cleared?

The northern half was the answer!

Now those of you who are real pilots will realise how this piece of information was received.

I don't have tell you that he managed just fine.

Runway looks like it's 150' wide with 25' displayed shoulders on either side. Total of 200'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KivHg...ature=youtu.be


Interesting video. Talks of the F/A's running through the cabin getting organized. Passengers told to don their life vests. It's dark outside.


Cooling fan in the cargo hold was reported as the source of the smoke. Wonder what the cockpit indications were? Cargo fire warning, with smoke in the cabin, would be a hair raising combination which might have been the trigger for the PA about donning life vests and the possibility of a ditching. Night ditching in the northern hemispheres is one of the worst events we talk about.


Looks like a nice job by the crew preparing for an event that ultimately was degraded.

Thanks for pointing this out but can you legally taxi on those runway shoulders?

The PASY Jepp 11-1 page dated 5 JUL 13 just says the width is 150 feet. I've never heard of being able to use the shoulders to make a turn. Is this buried in the NOTAMS or DOD pubs somewhere perhaps? The 'shoulders' have the diagonal yellow hashes that tell me not to taxi there.

But, I can absolutely see what you are saying, the pavement looks exactly the same in the hashed area so maybe buried somewhere in my company issued tablet is a note saying it is OK.

The crazy part is hey, you're in the middle of nowhere, who cares, use the extra width to turn more safely on the wet runway. But, sure as anything, some fed's daughter is in the back recording video of the turn on her iPhone and will upload it to Facebook (and PPRuNe ;)) when she gets back. :ugh:

It does look like you could swing out over taxiway A (using 'judgmental oversteering' of course :)) to turn around for a departure on runway 28.

airbubba, pix of the departure from Shemya where little can be seen out of the window, and in/from the terminal at Anchorage. I wondered if they were told, no photographing the installation at Shemya. :cool:

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Did the Cathay flight need to obtain any fuel or services? I'm curious how any services would be arranged, since typically the US military isn't setup to charge airlines, even when the base is run by contractors.

Any aircraft crossing the Pacific has Shemya ready to go. On most nights it feels like a warm hand holding yours as you make your way across.