How do you land at the wrong airport?

[Flying Illini]

Was just into KRAP (haha!) two weeks ago...THESE (ellsworth and rapid city) AIRPORTS ARE VERY, VERY EASY TO CONFUSE!!!! Both have the exact same runway alignment. You actually spot Ellsworth FIRST because the rwy is so freakin big. If memory serves, they are either 6 miles, or less than 6 miles apart. On the visual appch (don't remember what rwy) my pattern (downwind leg) actually had me flying a final for ellsworth...but I broke it off into a left base The jepp charts make you well aware of the possibility of landing at ellsworth instead of rapid city. THe only reason we realized we were about to call ellsworth in site and not KRAP was because we couldn't find Elssworth AFB...(we were looking right at it, but thought we were looking at rapid city). Then, we saw a much smaller looking airport and THEN we knew how easy it would have been. When you call appch and again on tower, they tell you were to look for the airport and to confirm that you have it in site.
It's easy to do, and when you go visual, if you're not careful, it could easily happen to any one of us.

 

[Vector4fun]

Take a look at Biggs AAF (BIF) rwy 21 and ELP rwy 22. Two miles apart and parallel. Used to wave off somebody lined up with BIF almost every week it seemed. I dunno, may be better now ELP extended 22 and added a big cargo ramp. I knew the FO of the AA flight that landed at BIF years ago....

 

[BD King]

I've done it.

Me too.

www.bdkingpress.com

 

[TonyC]

I flew thru Omaha, look at KOMA (main airport). There is an airforce base 10 mi south KOFF. Would be easy to mistake the two if you broke out of the clouds south of KOMA.

"Easy" is such a subjective word.


The runway layouts and alignments of Offutt Air Force Base and Omaha Eppley are considerably different, so it would be LESS easy to mistake the two than some of the other AFB/civil field pairs mentioned in this thread.

Offutt has a single runway, Eppley has three.

Offutt's runway is oriented 30/12. Eppley's are 32L/14R, 32R/14L, and 36/18.

Neither airport is located conveniently along or near the path you might take to fly towards the other airport.

In most of the situations cited in this thread and in most incidents, the runway layout is very similar in terms of numbers of runways and the orientation of the runways. To further complicate the scenarios, the "wrong" airport often comes into view while properly aligned for the "right" airport, just at an earlier than normal time.


For example, the Runways at Rapid City are 32/14 and 05/23. Runway 32/14 is large (8,701' x 150') and quite visible, while the perpendicular runway is relatively small (3,601' x 75') and difficult to spot. Ellsworth's single runway 31/13 is very large (13,497' x 300'), is oriented quite similarly to Rapid City's large runway, and is located near the course one might fly to land on Rapid City's Rwy 32.

An aerial view shows how you might easily confuse the two if you were perhaps lined up for Rwy 32 at Rapid City and popped out of an overcast to see Ellsworth off to the left a little. The situation could be exacerbated if you had a left crosswind and Ellsworth appeared to be straight off your nose. Or perhaps you're on a right base for Rapid City on a somewhat hazy day and you spot Ellsworth as you're turning onto a right dogleg.

In most cases, the landings at the wrong airfields could have been avoided had the pilots used all the resources available to them at the time. However, we're all human, we all tend to love shortcuts, and we all make mistakes. Ergo, this conversation.

 

[Wang Chung]

I've seen the Ellsworth/RAP, Biggs/ELP and Lake Charles/Chenault layouts while flying into these airports (the civilian ones) and I would agree that they can be confusing under the right circumstances. A professional pilot(s) exercising due care and using all available resources (i.e. backing up a visual with a loc, etc.) should be fine. But doing a visual in less than perfect circumstances - darkness, unfamiliarity with the area, haze/MVFR, fatigue...I can see where it can happen.

 

[bocefus]

Perhaps one of our esteemed members might like to share a "landing at the wrong airport" story that occured not long ago involving a Diesel 8 and no less than three Captains on board.

 

[AA717driver]

I have a real problem understanding how you can do it in an airplane with a moving map display and no malfunctions. That's why every Op Spec out there requires the crew to use all available navigational aids for an approach--even if it's VFR.

I don't believe this is a "there are those who have and those who will" situation.TC

 

[Bluto]

Take a look at Biggs AAF (BIF) rwy 21 and ELP rwy 22. Two miles apart and parallel. Used to wave off somebody lined up with BIF almost every week it seemed. I dunno, may be better now ELP extended 22 and added a big cargo ramp.

This is the example I was going to use. Fortunately, the runways at ELP are a little farther if you're landing towards the south, so if you realize you're lined up at BIF, you can just cheat back over and still be ok...so I've heard.

 

[imacdog]

I believe the NW plane was doing the VOR approach into 14 at KRAP, which puts you right on the final approach course to 13 at Ellsworth if you break out early. In low visibility it could have been easy to miskate Ellsworth for Rapid, and the incident took place before the special notes about the proximity of both airports were added to the approach plates. I've flown into Rapid a number of times without any problems but under the right circumstances I can see how something like this can happen.

 

[AA717driver]

I've flown into Rapid a number of times without any problems but under the right circumstances I can see how something like this can happen.

Maybe they both had their VOR/CDI's up on the NAV display. Again, not using all the tools available. Every course I've been through with a moving map display taught us to hard tune every radio for a non-precicion approach and have the PF with the VOR/NDB/CDI up on their screen and the PNF displaying the map on their side or vice-versa.

Oh well. It happened and we all just have to keep it in the back of our minds that it can happen to us if you get sloppy.TC

 

[Godvek]

DELTA = did everyone land there again?

easy to do at night and if you don't ID the localizer and tune in the wrong freq.

 

[MFRskyknight]

I used to do it all the time on MS flightsimulator. IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU, MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No kidding. You gotta watch that tricky Slew mode -- took meself from DFW to Mexico City once, I did.

 

[Lead Sled]

Those guys are idiots.

Easy there Ace. There are three "stupid" things that better and more experienced pilots than you or me have inadvertantly done:

1. Landed gear up.
2. Landed at the wrong airport.
3. Landed on the wrong runway.

You've alway got to keep on your toes and never let your guard down, even for a moment, or it can and will happen to you. In 39 years it's never happened to me (knock on wood) but it hasn't been for my lack of trying.

'Sled

 

[chperplt]

Take a look at Biggs AAF (BIF) rwy 21 and ELP rwy 22. Two miles apart and parallel. Used to wave off somebody lined up with BIF almost every week it seemed. I dunno, may be better now ELP extended 22 and added a big cargo ramp. I knew the FO of the AA flight that landed at BIF years ago....

I flew 58s out of BIF in the early 90s.. I can't count the number of jets (usually Southwest) that broke off the approach to BIF on a 2 mile final and made the left turn to land at ELP.

It was always entertaining to listen to both BIF tower and ELP tower on different radios..

 

[sqwkvfr]

The Base Realignment And Closure (BRAC) commission has recommended that Ellsworth AFB be closed.

It would seem that they feel that Minuteman missles are tools of the past and B1s would better serve the country -and save a little dough- if they were ALL based at an AFB in Texas.

Perhaps confusing the two won't be a problem much longer.

Here's a link to the RNAV approach for KRAP. I can see where someone would mistake it.