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#1
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Embarrassing approach snafu
Getting mixed up about runways and airports can happen easily, as Roy's post
shows, and it happened to me Friday. I was picking up an Angel Flight patient at Jacksonville Craig (CRG). The weather was VMC, I already new from a NOTAM that 14/32 was closed, and the ATIS was advertising visuals to 23, so I don't have much excuse for what happened. Here's how it went: It was about 12:30 local and the airspace around Jacksonville was buzzing with traffic of all kinds. I arrived on a heading of about 100 and The TRACON had me at 4,000' coming into town. The airport was hard to see, but I finally spotted the black strip about 10 mi. out. The freq. was so busy I had a hard time telling the approach controller I had the airport in sight. Now I was getting antsy because I was 5 mi. out and still at 4,000. I was close enough to read the numbers when the controller finally answered, cleared me for the visual and handed me to Craig Tower. Unfortunately, I was looking at the brilliant, freshly painted numbers on closed 32, and I was reading them upside down. Poor old beat up, worn out, active 23 was barely identifiable as a runway. I was seriously fuddled, and didn't even realize it yet. Craig Tower told me to extend my downwind for traffic, which was fine with me since I had altitude to lose, and I made a sharp right for the downwind to what I thought was 23. In about 5 seconds a new, very authoritative-sounding voice came on the freq: "Cutlass '87D you were instructed to enter the downwind for 23. You appear to be making a 360. You were not authorized to make a 360. Turn to heading 050 immediately!" [Oh, dear. Oops. Oh, uh, yeah, 050 *would* be the downwind for 23, wouldn't it? Ever use that heading indicator you've got, sport?] "'87D, wilco." There followed a couple of more careful instructions from the tower to get the clueless dumbass on the ground without his hitting anybody, and that was that. Talk about embarrassing; ugh! Anyhow, that's what I get for taking routine things for granted, like properly identifying your runway and making sure all your position indications make sense. *sigh* Live and learn, I hope. -- Dan C-172RG at BFM |
#2
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Did something similar last year at Youngstown OH - popped out of the
clouds, cleared for visual, getting ready for final and realized I was about 90 degrees off in my orientation. Fortunately, the numbers were clear before I got too close. |
#3
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"Dan Luke" writes:
Getting mixed up about runways and airports can happen easily, as Roy's post shows, and it happened to me Friday. [snip] Anyhow, that's what I get for taking routine things for granted, like properly identifying your runway and making sure all your position indications make sense. *sigh* Live and learn, I hope. I was VFR into Sioux Falls, SD from the southwest (coming from DEN). I called the tower and they cleared me to land on runway 20 and report over the city. I'm on a heading of about 020 and see a runway straight ahead and figure this is a piece of cake, but what's with the "report over the city" thing? There's nothing but open country between me and the airport. After a few minutes more, the tower calls to ask if I'm the plane heading toward runway 02. Oops! Quick turn to do a left pattern over the city... [I may have the numbers wrong since I write this from memory and don't have an airport directory at hand.] |
#4
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Everett M. Greene wrote: After a few minutes more, the tower calls to ask if I'm the plane heading toward runway 02. Oops! Quick turn to do a left pattern over the city... To figure out where the approach end of the runway is I use the DG. You were heading northeast, lets say about a 030 heading. Just look on the DG to see where 200 is. Looking at the DG you see you'll have to enter a downwind. |
#5
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In article , Newps wrote:
After a few minutes more, the tower calls to ask if I'm the plane heading toward runway 02. Oops! Quick turn to do a left pattern over the city... To figure out where the approach end of the runway is I use the DG. You were heading northeast, lets say about a 030 heading. Just look on the DG to see where 200 is. Looking at the DG you see you'll have to enter a downwind. But a 020 heading to runway 20 makes _sense_ in a perfectly logical but totally wrong way. KBFI (Boeing Field, Seattle) has parallel runways 13/31 L/R and if you're even slightly dyslexic... Morris |
#6
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Newps writes:
Everett M. Greene wrote: After a few minutes more, the tower calls to ask if I'm the plane heading toward runway 02. Oops! Quick turn to do a left pattern over the city... To figure out where the approach end of the runway is I use the DG. You were heading northeast, lets say about a 030 heading. Just look on the DG to see where 200 is. Looking at the DG you see you'll have to enter a downwind. The DG was reading 02! This mental error is so common that psychologists even have a standard name for it -- set. You see what you expect to see, not what's there. |
#7
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#8
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"G Farris" wrote in message ... This notwithstanding, 02/20 and 13/31 have long been considered mistakes waiting to happen. Try 2/20. Can't transpose what isn't there. |
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