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Huge Jumbo Lands At Wrong Kansas Airport

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DUBLINFLYER

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 6, 2006
Posts
395
A huge Boeing 747 Dreamlifter cargo plane has landed at a tiny airport by mistake, the planemaker has admitted.

The aircraft came down safely at Colonel James Jabara Airport, about nine miles from McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita where it was supposed to land.

Boeing spokesman Marc Birtel says the Dreamlifter was bound for McConnell because it is adjacent to Spirit AeroSystems, a major supplier for the Dreamliner.

He did not say why or how the plane landed at the wrong airport.

Reports have suggested the plane might not be able to take off as the Jabara runway is 3,000ft short of the length a 747 typically needs. The airport does not have a control tower.

However, Brad Christopher, of the Wichita Airport Authority, said the plane, which has a wingspan of 211.5ft (64.44m) and is more than 235ft long, is safe for a normal departure.

"They've assured us they've run all the engineering calculations, performance and the aircraft is safe for a normal departure at its current weight and conditions here."

Fully loaded the Dreamlifter requires a runway more than 9,000ft (2,700m) to take off but Jabara's runway is 6,101ft (1,860m) long.
Boeing company's Dreamlifter airplane which is used to ferry the fuselage and other parts for the 787 Dreamliner sits on the tarmac at the company's Everett, Washington plantThe Dreamlifter is based at Boeing's site in Everett, Washington
Mr Christopher said airport property was not damaged and there were no injuries as a result of the unexpected arrival.

"Everything looks fine," he told reporters, adding that new pilots would be arriving to fly the plane out.

Spirit makes the forward section, or nose area, of the jet's fuselage and Boeing uses four modified 747s to haul parts for the new plane's construction.

Boeing said on its website: "The Boeing Dreamlifter is a modified 747-400 passenger airplane that can haul more cargo by volume than any airplane in the world.

"It is the primary means of transporting major assemblies of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner from suppliers around the world to the 787 final assembly site in Everett, Washington.

"This reduces delivery times to as little as one day from as many as 30 days."

Jabara Airport is named after World War Two and Korean War flying ace James Jabara.
 

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