The NW overflight, what REALLY happened

Jeffrey Bloss writes:

If only I could work out what you're saying.

I'm saying they got what they deserved, and are in no position to complain.

I'm just wondering if those pilots who landed on a taxiway had their licenses
revoked, too, since they also deserved to be grounded.

Mxsmanic writes:

I'm just wondering if those pilots who landed on a taxiway had their licenses
revoked, too, since they also deserved to be grounded.

Not sure that merely landing on a taxiway is cause for license
revocation. That would be a single momentary mistake; the NW pilots made
a series of careless mistakes over an hour or more.

BTW, what about landing at the wrong airport? Some airliner did that
many years ago, confusing then-Moffet Naval Airstation in the south Bay
Area for the intended San Jose Municipal (back then it was Muni, not
Intl.) Don't know what happened to them.

I saw a bizjet land at the wrong airport a few years ago. A 3-engined
FalconJet landed at my home airport (KEDU) by mistake instead of its
intended KDWA (No. Calif). Runways: KEDU 3176 x 50 ft; KDWA 6000 x 100
ft. This was mid-morning, full sunshine. It was kinda funny for us on
the ground, we all heard the roar of the approaching jet, couldn't
believe it was going to land, and as soon as the mains touched the PIC
kicked in reverse thrust, full power. Somehow he made the turn onto the
end taxiway and parked, found out he was at the wrong place. Even
stranger to watch him take off, we don't get many jets here . We joked
he wasn't going to log that airport.

Bug Dout writes:

Not sure that merely landing on a taxiway is cause for license
revocation.

It was an active taxiway. Had there been an aircraft on that taxiway, it would
have been Tenerife all over again, with hundreds dead. That's excellent cause
for revocation of a license.

BTW, what about landing at the wrong airport? Some airliner did that
many years ago, confusing then-Moffet Naval Airstation in the south Bay
Area for the intended San Jose Municipal (back then it was Muni, not
Intl.) Don't know what happened to them.

I haven't heard of that case, but in a case where Northwest landed in the
wrong country (as I recall), the navigator was fired, and I'm not sure about
the others or about their licenses. Landing at the wrong airport isn't as
dangerous as missing the airport by 150 nm or landing on a taxiway, though.
Still, it's a serious mistake for an airline pilot and could easily justify
certificate action.

I saw a bizjet land at the wrong airport a few years ago. A 3-engined
FalconJet landed at my home airport (KEDU) by mistake instead of its
intended KDWA (No. Calif). Runways: KEDU 3176 x 50 ft; KDWA 6000 x 100
ft. This was mid-morning, full sunshine. It was kinda funny for us on
the ground, we all heard the roar of the approaching jet, couldn't
believe it was going to land, and as soon as the mains touched the PIC
kicked in reverse thrust, full power. Somehow he made the turn onto the
end taxiway and parked, found out he was at the wrong place. Even
stranger to watch him take off, we don't get many jets here . We joked
he wasn't going to log that airport.

Was he IFR or VFR?

On Sat, 26 Dec 2009 20:08:54 +0100, Mxsmanic wrote:

Bug Dout writes:

Not sure that merely landing on a taxiway is cause for license
revocation.

It was an active taxiway. Had there been an aircraft on that taxiway, it would
have been Tenerife all over again, with hundreds dead. That's excellent cause
for revocation of a license.

STFU
--
tiger

On 26 Dec 2009, 22:05, Bug Dout wrote:
Mxsmanic writes:
I'm just wondering if those pilots who landed on a taxiway had their licenses
revoked, too, since they also deserved to be grounded.

Not sure that merely landing on a taxiway is cause for license revocation.


Eh? You could easily miss a helpless aircraft and/or other vehicles,
aside of the likelihood of the taxiway not being long enough to
prevent an overrun.

If that ain't cause for license revocation, an arrest is the least
severe censure.


That would be a single momentary mistake; the NW pilots made
a series of careless mistakes over an hour or more.

Having missed the scheduled TOD by as much as half an hour and then
too realizing that something might be amiss only by accident seems way
odd for two aviators with that much flying experience between them.

The other oddity is the meal comment. A meal at 5.30 pm?? And I'm sure
pilots would need to be not eating pre-TOD because the PF needs to
conduct an approach briefing, among other things.


I saw a bizjet land at the wrong airport a few years ago.

Although this isn't uncommon, in this day and age, landing at the
wrong airport is utterly unpardonable. I recall that 5 years ago an
Airbus A319 landed thus near Rapid City. Unless they'd keyed in the
wrong airport data into the FMC and/or violated the SOP by hand-flying
during phases when they shouldn't have been, it beggars belief that an
FBW a/c could've managed that!

Ramapriya