NTSB Safety Alert SA-033 - Landing at the Wrong Airport

Landing at the Wrong Airport

Check and confirm destination airport

The problem

 Without adequate preparation , robust monitoring , and cross -checking of position using all

available resources, flight crews may misidentify a nearby airport that they see during the

approach to their destination airport.

 The risk of an accident increases because the runway at the wrong airport may not be

long enough to accommodate the landing airplane , and o ther aircraft operating at the

airport may also be unaware of potential conflicting traffic .

 Air traffic controllers may not detect a wrong airport landing in time to intervene because

of other workl oad or radar coverage limitations.

Related incidents

The following incidents involving air carriers landing at the wrong airport occurred within

2 months of each other :

 On January 12, 2014, about 1810 local time, a Boeing 737 -7H4, Southwest Airlines

flight 4013, landed at the wrong airport in Branson, Missouri , in night visual

meteorological conditions (VMC) . The ai rplane was scheduled to fly from Chicago

Midway International Airport, Chicago, Illinois , to Branson Airport. Instead, t he flight crew

mistakenly landed the airplane at M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport, Branson,

Missouri. The flight crew reported that they were flying direct to a fix for an area

navigation ( RNAV ) approach. They advised the air traffic controller that they had the

airport in sight ; they were then cleared for the visual approach. Although the correct

destination airport was depicted on their cockpit displays, the flight crew reported flying to

the airport that they visually identified as their destination ; once the airport w as in sight,

they did not reference their cockpit displays . The airplane stopped at the end of the

3,738 -ft runway after a hard application of the brakes . (DCA 14IA037 )

 On November 21, 2013 , about 2120 local time, a Boeing 747-400LCF (Dreamlifter)

landed at the wrong airport in Wichita, Kansas, in night VMC . The airplane was being

operated as a cargo flight from John F. Kennedy Inter national Airport, Jamaica,

New York, to McConnell Air Force Base, Wichita , Kansas . Instead, t he flight crew

mistakenly landed the airplane at Colonel James Jabara Airport, Wichita, Kansas. The

flight crew indicated that during their approach to the airport , they saw runway lights th at

they misidentified as McConnel l Air Force Base. The flight was cleared for the RNAV

GPS 19L approach, and the flight crew saw Jabara but misidentified it as McConnell. The

flight crew then completed the flight by visual reference to the Jabara runway. Once on

the ground at Jabara, t he flight crew was uncertain of the airplane’s location until

confirmed by the McConne ll Air Force Base tower controller . The Jabara runway is

6,101 ft long, whereas McConnell runways are 12,000 f t long. (DCA14IA016 )

SA-033 March 2014 , revised December 2015

What can flight crews do ?

 Adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs) , verify the airplane’s position relative to

the destinatio n airport, and use available cockpit instrumentation to verify that you are

landing at the correct airport .

 Maintain extra vigilance when identifying the destination airport at night and when landing

at an airport with others in close proximity.

 Be famili ar with and include in your approach briefing the destination airport’s layout and

relationship to other ground features ; available lighting such as visual glideslope

indicators, approach light systems, and runway lighting; and instrument approaches.

 Use t he most precise navigational aids available in conjunction with a visual approach

when verifying the destination airport .

 Confirm that you have correctly identified the destination airport before reporting the

airport or runway is in sight.

Interested in more information?

The incident reports referenced in this safety alert are accessible by NTSB incident number from

the NTSB’s Aviation Accident Database & Synopses web page at

www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/index.aspx . One incident is still unde r investigation. P ublic docket s

are accessible from the NTSB’s Docket Management System web page at

http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms/ for completed investigations .

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular 120 -71A, “Standard Operating

Procedures for Flight Deck Crewmembers ,” provides information about the development,

imple mentation, and updating of SOPs and can be accessed from www.faa.gov/

regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/ . Appendix 2, “Stabilized Approach: Concepts and

Terms,” provides guidance on approaches and landings.

Chapter 2 of the FAA’s Aeronautical Information Manual , “Aeronautical Lighting and Other

Airport Visual Aids, ” provides a comprehensive resource on airport lighting and can be accessed

from http://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/media/AIM.pdf .

FAA Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO ) 07003, “Confirming the Takeoff Runway ,” discusses

takeoffs from the wrong runway and includes g uidance also applicable for verify ing the

destination airport. The SAFO states, “ The Golden Rule —Use all available resources, old

and n ew, to ensure your airplane is positioned correctly …The best SOPs may be a blend of

proven old practices and new ones.” The SAFO can be accessed from www.faa.gov/other_visit/

aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/safo/all_safos/ .

The Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) published a special FSF report in its Flight Safety Digest ,

“Killers in Aviation: FSF Task Force Presents Facts about Approach -and-Landing and

Controlled -Flight -Into-Terrain Accidents ” (1998), and an article in its Aero Safety World , “From

Nonprecision Approaches to Precision -Like Approaches: Methods and Operational Procedures ”

(Oct. 2007), highlight ing on-board equipment available to flight crews. Both documents can be

accessed from http://flightsafety.org/ .

This NTSB safety alert and others can be accessed from the NTSB’s Safety Alerts web page at

http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety -alerts/Pages/default.aspx .