C-17 Lands at Wrong Airport

[Just the facts]

I came across this story yesterday and thought others might find this interesting. A C-17 landed at the 'wrong' airport in Tampa. The runway it landed on is only 3500' long. For the conspiracy theorist out there checkout the 2:20 mark on the news link.

http://www.wtsp.com/video/default.as...=1746068423001



So let me ask the obvious question - how hard is to land at the 'wrong' airport? Clearly the pilot could tell that he was not landing at air force base as Pete O'Knight airport is on an island and is very very small.

[MikeOKC]

[Snowman]

Good thing it was a C-17 instead of a C-5

[BoulderSooner]

c-17's can take off and land on very very short runways

[Roadhawg]

So much for the pilots career

[Just the facts]

c-17's can take off and land on very very short runways

Apparently, because they just did it on a 3500 foot runway, which makes me wonder if this was an accident at all. Did the military just happen to have a 'high security convoy' in the area for just such a scenario? Is there anyway the pilots could have landed here by accident?

[Jersey Boss]

Pilot related to Inhofe?

[Just the facts]

Pilot related to Inhofe?

Pretty funny, which makes me wonder who was on board that got in the high security convoy.

[RadicalModerate]

General Menino, at MacDill AFB, refused to allow the plane to land because it was transporting Dan Cathey of Chick-fil-A fame.

[Snowman]

Did the military just happen to have a 'high security convoy' in the area for just such a scenario?

Since the air force base it was likely in route to was less than five miles away it would not be hard to get some security vehicles over quickly if there was a high value asset on board. A military base is a lot more secure area than a random general aviation airport, especially one they came less than ten feet from going off the end of the runway.

Is there anyway the pilots could have landed here by accident?

The runways are at the same angle almost inline with each other five miles apart. It apparently happened before in the 80's, though with a different plane that had to be disassembled to remove it.

[Just the facts]

Since the air force base it was likely in route to was less than five miles away it would not be hard to get some security vehicles over quickly if there was a high value asset on board



The runways are at the same angle almost inline with each other five miles apart. It apparently happened before, though with a different plane that had to be disassembled to remove it.

That is 5 miles across the water. It is a much longer drive than that. There is no one, I repeat, no one that would mistake a 3500' runway at a small airport with an 11,500' runway at a major military base. McDill AFB is huge and Peter O. Knight is so small I'll bet it is impossible to see at the point the C17 had to line up with the runway. This would really be like landing at the old downtown airpark instead of Tinker AFB.

[BBatesokc]

Apparently, because they just did it on a 3500 foot runway, which makes me wonder if this was an accident at all. Did the military just happen to have a 'high security convoy' in the area for just such a scenario? Is there anyway the pilots could have landed here by accident?

I really didn't see anything that points to anything other than really bad pilot error.

Sure they are highly trained, but we don't' know this pilot or what was going on in the cockpit or in his head or even his exact approach. But, as pointed out, the two airports are really close, using the same number (22) and runways pointing the same direction.

Off course, when you check them out via Google Maps, one is vastly larger than the other - but if you remove scale they are almost identical in shape and geographic position.

The bigger question would be, what would be the point other than an accident - lives were risked and the military base was only 4 miles away (by air). That also easily accounts for why a convoy was available - they only had to drive (10 miles by road - 22 minutes) to get there.

Looks like a pilot is going to be in hot water and getting lots of probably deserved ribbing.

[Just the facts]

General Menino, at MacDill AFB, refused to allow the plane to land because it was transporting Dan Cathey of Chick-fil-A fame.

This is Tampa - he would have been welcomed with open arms.

[Just the facts]

I really didn't see anything that points to anything other than really bad pilot error.

Maybe so, an American Airlines jet landed at West Pam Beach on time that was supposed to be going to Ft Lauderdale and a Northwest flight a few years ago flew an hour past its destination.

[Roadhawg]

This is Tampa - he would have been welcomed with open arms.

I thought you lived in Jax?

[BBatesokc]

Airport in the middle of no where - maybe conspiracy. Tiny airport that seemed prepared for the landing (fuel trucks and other planes far removed from the runway) - maybe conspiracy. Mysterious unmarked vehicles taking items from plane and driving away trying to go unnoticed - maybe a conspiracy.

This set of circumstances - the only conspiracy is the lack of training of this pilot.

Of course, they were coming from U.S. Central Command operations in southwest Asia, so I have no idea if the pilot had lots of experience with the airport he was supposed to land at or how long this pilot had been in the air and/or how rested he was.

[Just the facts]

I thought you lived in Jax?

I do, the incident happened in Tampa.

[Just the facts]

Of course, they were coming from U.S. Central Command operations in southwest Asia, so I have no idea if the pilot had lots of experience with the airport he was supposed to land at or how long this pilot had been in the air and/or how rested he was.

McDill his home to US Central Command, You think the pilot would have been there before, but maybe not. Anyhow, I thought the video was pretty neat. The guy doing the filming probably needed to change his pants afterwords.

[BBatesokc]

Does that airport have a manned tower? If so, I can only imagine the panic that set in. Or, imagine being a tiny plane taxing onto the runway to prepare to take off and you see that thing coming down!

[OKCTalker]

This happens more than you think, even with professional flight crews using everything from VFR sectional charts to GPS to ILS and RNAV. Immediately ESE of Tulsa International is a drag strip that runs east-west, the same general direction of RWY 08-26 which is 7,376 feet long. The VFR sectional chart clearly identifies the drag strip by the words "DRAG STRIP" but airplanes line up to land on it all the time.

That this happened at the wrong airport? Not a surprise.

[jmpokc1957]

I can only guess, but I think pilot fatigue is the probable cause. It's a subject that's getting a lot more attention these days. In my opinion it was a case where the pilot was given the visual approach and, being fatigued and unfamiliar with the area, fixated on the wrong airport. It would be more difficult to explain if he was given the ILS. A better question is why the copilot didn't catch it and what was the monitor controller doing.

I once flew a C-172 from Portland, Oregon, down to the LA area in the summertime. It was a long, hot eight hour flight and I was more fatigued that I realized. I was fixated on a large military field in the area and entered the left downwind instead of the right. Fortunately the controller questioned me and I caught my mistake and landed at the right airport. No problem, but just like that column in Flying magazine, "I learned about flying from that!"

Sunny and 85 in Portland.

Mike

[Just the facts]

While doing some checking about planes landing at the wrong airport I came across a Delta flight that landed on the taxiway at ATL instead of the runway. Doh!

[venture]

Does that airport have a manned tower? If so, I can only imagine the panic that set in. Or, imagine being a tiny plane taxing onto the runway to prepare to take off and you see that thing coming down!

No it does not. It is an uncontrolled airfield.

[Roadhawg]

I do, the incident happened in Tampa.

Oh OK... The way you said "This is Tampa - he would have been welcomed with open arms." I got the impression you lived there.

[MikeOKC]

Yes, pilots can make mistakes, but can a military pilot of a C-17 possibly not know the difference between a tiny strip airport on an island and a huge Air Force base? That's hardly the same as a driver passing the wrong exit ramp due to fatigue. No analogy there whatsoever.

I certainly don't know what happened, but it's a mystery. Mistaking not apples & oranges, but bananas with spinach is just.....bizarre.