"Ah, excuse me, it seems we've landed at the wrong airport..."

[munitalP]

A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800, registration TC-JFT performing flight TK-1382 from Istanbul Ataturk (Turkey) to Tbilisi (Georgia) with 69 passengers, erroneously landed at the military airfield Tbilisi Vaziani [UG13] about 4nm from its intended destination Tbilisi's Novo Alexeyevka Airport during the approach from the south. The landing was safe.

The airplane has been impounded by the Georgian military. Passengers and crew are being interviewed.

A replacement aircraft was dispatched to Tbilisi to perform the return flight.

Turkish media report, that the aircraft landed on a military base that had been bombed by Russia during the Ossetian war and suggest in their maps, that the airplane landed on Tbilisi Soganlug [OG24] airport to the west of the International Airport Novo Alexeyevka Airport. However, Russian fighters had dropped bombs on Vaziani airport south of the International Airport.

Georgian and Turkish Aviation Authorities have launched an investigation.


Mr!

:shock:

 

[markis10]

I have seen an instance where the crew of a QF 737 where going to Perth while the pax were going to Adelaide, needless to say when we asked the AD destined crew the pax on that plane were going to Perth!

Until the running rabbit was put in at Tulla the odd international crew did try to land at Essendon, so its not unheard of for instruments to be ignored in favor of eyeballs I once got my planes confused and caught an Osaka - NY flight instead of a SYD based flight, buts thats another story for another time.

 

[Emkay]

It's not really surprising about the slight error here - it would be terribly difficult for even the most experienced pilot to hit the right runway if they were only about 4 nanometers apart - give the guy a break!

 

[anat0l]

It's not really surprising about the slight error here - it would be terribly difficult for even the most experienced pilot to hit the right runway if they were only about 4 nanometers apart - give the guy a break!

I believe 4nm refers to four nautical miles in this case.

Still not a terribly large distance. (UNCLOS treaty specifies that most sovereign borders extend to up to 3 nautical miles from coastlines.)

EDIT: I suppose you were being tongue-in-cheek.

 

[munitalP]

...

EDIT: I suppose you were being tongue-in-cheek.

I think he was

Mr!

 

[Emkay]

EDIT: I suppose you were being tongue-in-cheek.

Yeah - and maybe a bit pedantic too

km kilometre
cm centimetre
mm millimetre
µm micrometre
nm nanometre
and so, ad infinitum

http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/prefixes.html

 

[JohnK]

How did they get ATC clearance to land at the wrong airport?

 

[NM]

How did they get ATC clearance to land at the wrong airport?

They didn't. They would have had clearance to land at the correct airport but landed at the wrong one.

Keep in mind we are not talking about a major airport. the ATC operator controlling the flight may have been a long way away and not known the exact position and bearing of the aircraft - just working from what they were told by the pilots.

 

[straitman]

Yeah - and maybe a bit pedantic too

km kilometre
cm centimetre
mm millimetre
µm micrometre
nm nanometre
and so, ad infinitum

Definitions of the SI units: The twenty SI prefixes

In the interests of courtesy I'll let that one through to the keeper :!:

 

[Batesy]

I have seen an instance where the crew of a QF 737 where going to Perth while the pax were going to Adelaide, needless to say when we asked the AD destined crew the pax on that plane were going to Perth!

Until the running rabbit was put in at Tulla the odd international crew did try to land at Essendon, so its not unheard of for instruments to be ignored in favor of eyeballs I once got my planes confused and caught an Osaka - NY flight instead of a SYD based flight, buts thats another story for another time.

Pardon my ignorance. What is the "running rabbit"??

 

[serfty]

Pardon my ignorance. What is the "running rabbit"??

See here:

Kill The Rabbit - PPRuNe Forums

 

[markis10]

The running rabbit is the series of strobe lights in a line at the threshold of RWY 34, it used to be a requirement for pilots to confirm they have the lights in sight before an approach gets clearance if ATC feels there is a possibility of confusion with Essendon.