Boeing 747 Dreamlifter Lands at Wrong Airport in Giant Blunder

[a2capt]

Boeing 747 Dreamlifter Lands at Wrong Airport in Giant Blunder

A Boeing 747 Dreamlifter bound for McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas mistakenly landed at Jabara Airport near Wichita on Wednesday after a flight from New York's JFK. If that error wasn't bad enough, the massive cargo plane was stuck there and forced the airport to close until it could take off this afternoon.

The story ..
http://www.flyingmag.com/news/boeing-747-dreamlifter-lands-wrong-airport-giant-blunder

The soundbytes ..
https://soundcloud.com/producermatthew/atlas-air-flight-4241-lands-at

Not sure what's going to be worse .. the explaining they have to do, or the teasing from co-workers.

I'd figure that pilots for these niche aircraft are not very common themselves.

No one is perfect, but ..

[Eclipse]

Not sure what's going to be worse .. the explaining they have to do, or the teasing from co-workers.

More like emails from former co-workers.

Debrief and fire.

[PHall]

The crew is from Atlas Air. Atlas probably has two positions open this morning.

[TexasCadet]

How do you make a mistake like that?

[SarDragon]

How do you make a mistake like that?

Easier then you think.

Examination of the locations reveals runways with headings differing by about 5 degrees. Also, they are almost on a straight line from each other. Runway size does differ significantly, though - Mc Connell is 12,000' x 150', Jabara is 6101' x 100'.

If you check out the approach plate for Jabara, you'll see four runways all in a sort of a line, from Jabara in the south, to Mc Connell in the north, Cessna and Beech being in the middle.

[sardak]

How do you make a mistake like that?

Easier then you think.

Here's one list of aircraft that have landed at the wrong airport.

Mike

[bosshawk]

Some folks have short memories: a few months back, a USAF crew landed a C-17 on a very short runway in the Tampa, Florida area.  They mistook it for McDill AFB, which is nearby and has a runway on the same heading.

Same sort of thing probably happens more often than the press ever knows.  CNN reported the 6101 ft runway as being a "tiny airport".  Wish I had that problem: our runway is 3300.

[jeders]

I'm a little surprised no one posted this sooner.

Some folks have short memories: a few months back, a USAF crew landed a C-17 on a very short runway in the Tampa, Florida area.  They mistook it for McDill AFB, which is nearby and has a runway on the same heading.

That was my first thought when I heard about this. Also, as was the case in that incident, a relief crew was brought in to move the Dreamlifter from Jabara to McConell.

Same sort of thing probably happens more often than the press ever knows. 

I would say it probably happens on a weekly, if not daily, basis somewhere in the country with GA.

[Storm Chaser]

How do you make a mistake like that?

It happens more often than you think.

[sardak]

I'm a little surprised no one posted this sooner.

Some folks have short memories: a few months back, a USAF crew landed a C-17 on a very short runway in the Tampa, Florida area.  They mistook it for McDill AFB, which is nearby and has a runway on the same heading.

That incident is on the list I linked to 4 posts back, prior to bosshawk's post.

July 20, 2012 - An Air Force C-17, bound for MacDill Air Force Base, mistakenly lands at Peter O. Knight Field (TPF).

Mike

[LTC Don]

I'm a little surprised no one posted this sooner.

Some folks have short memories: a few months back, a USAF crew landed a C-17 on a very short runway in the Tampa, Florida area.  They mistook it for McDill AFB, which is nearby and has a runway on the same heading.

That incident is on the list I linked to 4 posts back, prior to bosshawk's post.

July 20, 2012 - An Air Force C-17, bound for MacDill Air Force Base, mistakenly lands at Peter O. Knight Field (TPF).

Mike

And, here is a video of that rather impressive C-17 takeoff; check out the engine nacelles during runup:
C-17 Lands at small commuter airport by accident

Here is a vid of the Dreamlifter takeoff from Jabara:
Boeing Dreamlifter Takeoff Jabara Airport Wichita KS


The physics of flight never cease to amaze me.  A discovery and perfection just as important as the wheel. 

[bosshawk]

Just keep in mind that the most important thing that enables an aircraft to fly is:     MONEY.

[PHall]

Just keep in mind that the most important thing that enables an aircraft to fly is:     MONEY.

And paperwork...

[nmkaufman0]

McConnell AFB isn't far from Wichita, so I guess stuff happens.

[Shortline]

If interested, here's a link to a site that has the livestock.net recording of the comm between the 747 and McConnel. http://jalopnik.com/listen-to-a-747-pilot-realize-he-doesnt-know-where-the-1468904282

Edit to add-sorry, didn't realize it was already posted....carry on!

[sardak]

Southwest jet bound for Branson lands at wrong airport

And here is the explanation from the carrier for the Dreamlifter landing at the wrong place (the event that prompted this thread).
The 747 remained on autopilot until passing the initial approach fix [for McConnell], at which time the flying pilot saw a brightly lit runway slightly to his left, which seemed to match what he was searching for.

Believing the aircraft was too high to land safely, the flying pilot disconnected the autopilot and increased the rate of descent toward what he thought was 19L at McConnell but was in fact Runway 18 at Jabara. The pilot monitoring was uncertain about the runway's identity, but remained silent.

Mike