Oops... Airliner lands at the wrong airport...

Mike Beede wrote

Anyone know what the balanced field length for a minimum-fuel 707
would have been? Considering how much of an airliner's weight is
fuel and cargo, it seems like it would have been fairly short.

Mike, the answer is not that easy, too many variables, some of
which require a longer field lenght than just balanced-field.
A late model 707 empty weighed about 150,000# and with a couple
of hours of fuel would weigh about 175,000# which would only
require somewhere around 4,000' of runway. I say around because
the charts do not go down that far because of the real limiting
factor which is VMC (ground) which is 122kts regardless of weight
and this factor sets the minimum value of V1 to 122kts.... the
equivalent of a 250,000# airplane and requiring a field length
longer than the 4,000'/100kt V1 numbers would indicate. Obviously,
the 175,000# airplane gets to 122kts faster than a 250,000# airplane
will, but at PanAm, our manual required a minimum field length
that would accomodate the 250,000#/122kt airplane, or about 6,000'.
That being said....I did operate 707s out of Arthur Jones' private
runway on his estate near Ocala, FL when it was only 5,000' long. It
has since been lengthened. Arthur made his fortune in the Nautilus
exercise equipment business and owned three B-707s. John Travolta
lives there now and flies his B-707 from the lengthened 6,000' run-
way.

Bob Moore

In article , gatt
wrote:

At the public terminal where I fly out of (Troutdale) there's a photo of a
United 707 that mistook Troutdale for Portland International. Imagine
landing a jet and realizing that the 11,000 feet of runway you expected is
only 5,000 feet long. They had to strip the plane of all excess weight and
bring it a special pilot to get the plane out. The pilot who landed it rode
the plane out with the stand-in crew. Was probably his last flight with the
airline.

Same thing happend in 1964 with a TWA 707.
The airline landed at night KOSU (7 miles NE of Columbus, OH) instead
of KCMH (five miles east of Columbus, OH). KCMH is 10 nm ESE of KOSU.
Runway layout were similar, but runway lengths are different.
Everything was stripped and minimum fuel was kept on board for the
short hop off of the 5,000 foot runway to the 10,000 foot runway.

TomSixkiller... RCA has B-1s.. not B-2s..
BT

"Tom Sixkiller" wrote in message
...

I'm surprised that they were allowed to land,
especially seeing that they were told to pull the shades and don't
peek. I don't know what it is they weren't supposed to see,

B-2 bombers.

On 21 Jun 2004 18:22:59 -0700, Bob Fry
wrote:

The backseat drivers will come out and blast the pilot, crew,
controllers, flight attendants and lineboy for this screwup, but you
know, stuff happens.

In the 1970s (I think) an airliner landed at then Moffett Naval Air
Station instead of San Jose Muni.

Just a few months ago a tri-engine Falcon Jet--I don't know which
model--landed by mistake at University Airport (3185 x 50 ft.) instead
of nearby Yolo Airport (6000 x 100 ft.) The pilot hit the reverse
thrust before the nosewheel touched down...better pilot skill than
judgement.

Stuff happens. Be glad it doesn't happen to you.

Stuff does happen and I am grateful that I haven't made that egregious
and error, yet. What amazes me, however, is that the military
"allowed" this plane to land at the base. If the plane happened to be
in the hands of someone with ill intent and he took out a row of
bombers there would be one hell of a lot of explaining to do.
Rich Russell

On 21 Jun 2004 18:22:59 -0700, Bob Fry
wrote:

Just a few months ago a tri-engine Falcon Jet--I don't know which
model--landed by mistake at University Airport (3185 x 50 ft.) instead
of nearby Yolo Airport (6000 x 100 ft.) The pilot hit the reverse
thrust before the nosewheel touched down...better pilot skill than
judgement.

I'd sell tickets to the guy's takeoff when he tries to leave.Even a straight
wing Citation couldn't get out of that mess.

It happens more than some would like to admit...



"Richard Kaplan" wrote in message
s.com...
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/0....ap/index.html


--------------------
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com

"BTIZ" wrote in message
news:ZWoBc.4646$5t2.948@fed1read01...
NWA now in search of new pilots...

Lets see...
RAP is south of the Interstate.. and SE of the City...
RCA is North of the Interstate.. and NE of the City..

RAP is 14-32, 8700x150
RCA is 13-31, 13,500x300

RAP has a cross wind runway.. near the north end
RCA does not..

RAP, all terminals are west of the airport and centrally located
RCA, the MAIN RAMP is east of the airport.. with what looks like a small
town that is the air base


None of which they would know as they wouldn't have any information at all
for RCA on board the aircraft.

"Peter Duniho" wrote in message
...
"EDR" wrote in message
...
I would like to know what the controller at Ellison Approach was doing
instead of monitoring his/her scope and what the tower controller at
Rapid City was doing when he/she didn't see the aircraft as it called
inbound.

It's possible that ATC had the wrong destination listed for the aircraft.

No, it's not. No airliners go into Ellsworth.

"EDR" wrote in message
...
In article , OtisWinslow
wrote:

NWA has an excuse though because they'll just print a big write up in
their magazine saying that there were GA planes in the way and that
made them have to land at the AFB and that all those pesky GA planes
should be banned.

I would like to know what the controller at Ellison Approach was doing
instead of monitoring his/her scope

You should come watch sometime at a facility with the traffic level that
Ellsworth Approach has. He could have worked that airplane from the
****ter. They have no traffic over there.



and what the tower controller at
Rapid City was doing when he/she didn't see the aircraft as it called
inbound.

It's not unusual to not see an aircraft on initial contact. Normal time is
approx 10 miles out, may have been farther.

"Newps" wrote in message
...
None of which they would know as they wouldn't have any information at all
for RCA on board the aircraft.

Why wouldn't they have information about RCA on board? The NC A/FD lists
both RCA and RAP, don't airlines use something similar to the A/FD?

I would think the pilot might also notice a difference between runway
numbers 13/31 and 14/32. "Hey, who moved the runway!" ;-)