Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: Dingbat on June 21, 2004, 07:20:04 AM

Title: Whoops, nobody look out the windows!!!
Post by: Dingbat on June 21, 2004, 07:20:04 AM

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/Central/06/20/wrong.airport.ap/index.html

On CNN.com

ST. PAUL, Minnesota (AP) -- A Northwest Airlines flight that was headed to Rapid City, South Dakota, landed a few miles off course at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and passengers had to wait in the plane for more than three hours while their crew was interrogated.

Passengers on Northwest Flight 1152, an Airbus A-319 from St. Paul, expected to be welcomed to Rapid City Regional Airport on Saturday, but after about five minutes they were told to close their window shades and not look out, said passenger Robert Morrell.

"He (the pilot) hemmed and he hawed and he said 'We have landed at an Air Force base a few miles from the Rapid City airport and now we are going to figure out how we're going to get from here to there,"' Morrell told the St. Paul Pioneer Press by cell phone during the delay Saturday.

Eventually, the captain and first officer were replaced by a different Northwest crew for the short hop to the right airport.

Northwest confirmed that the crew made an "unscheduled landing."

"The situation is under review and we have nothing further to add," said Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch. He would not identify the cockpit crew, or say if the pilot made an error.

Ellsworth controls all air space 40 miles around the base and clears landings at both the civilian airport and the base.

The city's airport runway is "just over the hill" from Ellsworth, and the Northwest crew had to descend through a layer of clouds, said a base spokeswoman, Lt. Christine Millette.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

Title: Whoops, nobody look out the windows!!!
Post by: rpm on June 21, 2004, 07:57:42 AM

Continental had a flight crew do the same thing in Corpus Christi.
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001208X07902&key=1 :aok

Title: Whoops, nobody look out the windows!!!
Post by: gofaster on June 21, 2004, 08:27:56 AM

I've heard that the same thing has happened at MacDill by aircraft looking for Tampa International.

Title: Whoops, nobody look out the windows!!!
Post by: Krusher on June 21, 2004, 09:21:55 AM

Quote

Originally posted by gofaster
I've heard that the same thing has happened at MacDill by aircraft looking for Tampa International.

true, back in the late 70's we had a comercial airliner land at MacDill.

Title: Whoops, nobody look out the windows!!!
Post by: Dingbat on June 21, 2004, 10:47:17 AM

what really surprises me is how in this day and age it happens with a Commercial Airliner on an IFR flight...

Title: Whoops, nobody look out the windows!!!
Post by: Airhead on June 21, 2004, 11:27:42 AM

And Muckmaw thinks HE sucks.