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C-17 Inadvertently Lands at KTPF, Adjacent MacDill AFB

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3600FT Runway! Sounds like they thought it was MacDill... How could this happen on such a clear day? (www2.tbo.com) עוד...

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flyboy97222
Jason Rhew 27
Hey Mav, you got the number to that truck driving school? What was it, truck masters?
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp 1
My thought exactly! Jason, hit any more geese in a 210 lately?!
ilkc135
Peter Rabyk 10
I was stationed at MacDill when the Delta 727 landed there by mistake in 1980. I'm still unsure how that crew mistook runway 04 at MacDill, which was 500 feet wide at that time for runway 36L or 36R at Tampa International. Passengers on the 727 were probably shocked to be surrounded by Air Force Security Police when they landed!
gftt
gftt 5
Well if I'd have screwed the pooch and landed my PA32 at McDill instead of Peter O by mistake I'd still be spread eagle on the runway.
raddawgy
Ray Daigle 1
christrahan
chris trahan 5
It can happen. Several Continental Express pilots over the years have landed at Southland Field, mistaking it for Lake Charles Regional (LCH) at night, and I thought they were awfully careless. My attitude changed when,a few months ago, I almost landed at LaPorte Airport in Houston rather than Ellington Field, in daylight. ATC gave me vectors that took me off the usual approach path to EFD, and then told me to look for other traffic that was on the approach to Ellington. The distraction of watching for other traffic to follow, and then suddenly seeing a runway appear where I expected it to be, led me to call the airport in sight and to be cleared for a visual approach. Fortunately a vigilant controller at Ellington noticed that I appeared to be descending toward LaPorte, not Ellington. I thanked her profusely after landing for saving me from an embarrassing mistake. Her response was "Hey, airline pilots have made the same mistake."

[This poster has been suspended.]

jareibold
jared reibold 4
Why is that?
gearup328
Peter Steitz 1
Many RJ pilots are flying 75+ seat aircraft. Almost all mainline new hires come from the regionals. We expect a lot.
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 0
That's not a very comforting comment to the flying public, P. Rudd.
preacher1
preacher1 1
It's called paying yoor dues, Donna. As Peter says, after you have been there for awhile and gain experience, hopefully you can graduate, but your lesser experienced just got there and have minimum time and not much experience.To boot, there is so much automation these days, there is a lack of basic stick/rudder skills being taught and that is further complicating things as far as future pilot quality goes.
gearup328
Peter Steitz 1
Amen on the automation, 'ole preacher. I flew glass for 8 years and thank God I had thousands of hours in round dial and no autopilot before that. On the other hand, watching how the automation was flying the aircraft taught me a lot. It was smooth and always correcting. Hardly ever over corrected. I loved all the information it gave you and I'm sure the younger pilots do too.
preacher1
preacher1 2
It is definitely nice and saves a lot of work. When we went from the 707 to the 757 in the mid 80's and glass, it was real nice, but when we spec'd that 757, I had me a row of steam guages sitting up there as a backup. More than once too, that glass went dark and it was nice to have that backup and know what to do.
preacher1
preacher1 5
What is puzzling though is that if MacDill traffic gets handed off to it's tower at about 10 miles, WHAT HAPPENED?
bishops90
Brian Bishop 4
"We have the field in sight"
"Cleared for visual approach rwy 22"
bishops90
Brian Bishop 2
Them the tower guys quit paying attention to their radar. Bet they had an "OH SH'T" Moment a minute or two later.
bishops90
Brian Bishop 3
"McDill tower.......um..
...we have a bit of........um...... I think we're in ......um....sorta,the wrong place......."
joefly09
joefly09 3
this is so true, waiting for the wrong aircraft to land in Russia verses Dover. That as this is no laughing matter. I am quite sure the controllers at McDill are going to have some explaining to do. The C-17 crew will too, but they did a great job of land and stop. in all honesty they just made Boeing look good and Airbus like crap in face. Go Boeing American Made.
preacher1
preacher1 3
Yeah but wouldn't you have like to have been a fly in the cockpit when they lined up on final and said DANG, THAT IS A SHORT 11,000 feet!!!!!!
angelluis727
angel rodriguez 1
Captain: "I guess I need new prescription for my glasses." Co-pilot: "Oh, what a relief, I thought it what's just me!
joefly09
joefly09 1
lol yes and God knows that fly could not have flapped his wings fast enough to miss the windshield
laxlover
Stephen Brown 1
A Qantas 747 once landed on the wrong runway and nobody realized until a pilot mentioned it.
preacher1
preacher1 3
wrong airport too?
dawebb58
Daniel Webb 4
Nice short field take-off. Well within design.
mobilken
mobilken 3
As much as the stars were aligned, how could an experienced crew, approach control, and the tower be so unaligned?
DB777
Don Boyd 3
I have an aerial photo of Tampa that depicts both Peter O. Knight and MacDill in the background and the surroundings of each airport are nowhere similar. In addition, according to Google Earth, there is a 5.6 mile distance between each of the runway thresholds.
http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/144892857
billindurham
Bill Watson 1
That's not the view that is in question. The background and surroundings look completely different when being vectored around at 2,000 feet. Just saying
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 1
Minimums for the C17 are about 500ft or so realistically some less. Looking out the window and seeing all those single engines tied down, no mil. spec. buildings and a rather short, narrow runway, the pic might have declared a go around to assess things. I'm not so quick to say this was driver error, but maybe purposeful error for any number of reasons.

Easier to Ask for Forgiveness than Ask for Permission.
Jecain
Jonathan Cain 3
c-17 is an amazing jet
preacher1
preacher1 1
It really took something to top the C141 but I believe it has
bishops90
Brian Bishop 1
I agree. My daughter dated a C-17 driver out of Charleston for a while. Never got a ride though. And she won't fly at all!
Kingair31
Kingair31 3
Runway appeared not to have any damage given the fact 4-22 is rated for 20,000lbs single wheel.....
gearup328
Peter Steitz 2
As a retired airline pilot, I can believe it can happen especially in broad daylight. This almost never happens in IMC. This is because on a real approach, all the navaids are used. In good VFR conditions, chatting about last night's bar tab or where we are going tonite, you let your guard down. Most, if not all commercial airlines require that all navaids be used all the time. If the ILS for your real destination is set and being used, you won't land in the wrong place. Not to say that I never lined up on the wrong runway! Thank God we caught it in time. Ha!
preacher1
preacher1 2
Duplicate post. Original posted 5 days ago with 95 comments. See popular squawks last week
arunhn
Arun Nair 1
Ah.. thanks for pointing me towards the direction of real action! I was wondering why no one was talking about this here.. lol
ToddBaldwin3
ToddBaldwin3 2
I bet there are some flat spots on the tires....and maybe some brown spots elswhere.
beretta01
beretta01 2
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

C-17 Accidentally Lands at Small 3500ft GA Airport (Video)

A C17 mistakes Peter O Knight(TPF) for MacDill AFB. Lands on Runway 22 with 3,580ft to stop.

-Ryan Lowrey

http://www2.tbo.com/news/news/2012/jul/20/5/huge-air-force-cargo-plane-lands-at-davis-islands--ar-437276/
onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 2
relax relax relax....it was just a braking and seat puckering factor test..lol
onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 3
all jokes aside; this could have been a test for a future mission....who knows with so much stuff going on in the world today.
preacher1
preacher1 4
I can remember one time as a new pilot, with a friend and group coming back out of Vegas enroute to Tucson. FBO did not restock the coffee bar and all were hung over bad. Total VFR as most was out there, in a reman Lockheed Howard B23 taildragger with 2 r2800P&W's. Saw a new airport in NW AZ, wasn't even on a chart yet. Called and they said 5grand+ on the runway. Looked bad short coming in and made last turnout at about 35kts. Manager then came out and said boy had told me wrong. It was 3200'. Rest wasn't finished yet. Only thing that saved my butt getting off was about 25 on wind strait down the runway. We got our coffee but nobody needed it then. Everybody was well sober after that turnout.lol
gearup328
Peter Steitz 1
Picture this. Four ship of instructors coming home to Tyndall AFB from Vegas. Somewhere along the line, we start to notice our fuel burns are not working as planned. Lead decides we should land somewhere and get more gas. Turns out we completely left out a 350 mile leg in our planning. Thanks for lots of military fields. Obviously, we made it home. Wonder why we missed that leg in our planning? Could it possibly be "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas"?
bishops90
Brian Bishop 1
That's another one for your book. Remember, I want an autographed copy!
preacher1
preacher1 3
Now that I am officially retired, I might get around to it one of these days. My wife took me to Lemonade today; said I had been drinking too much tea.lol
bishops90
Brian Bishop 1
I hear ya buddy! DO IT.
Tell her I said ain't no such thing as too much sweet tea (in these parts the "sweet" is assumed)
chalet
chalet 1
The B-23 was a Douglas light bomber sprouting 2 Wright R2600s, 1600 HP, a slow bird compared to the Lockeed Ventura Howard mods 300, 350, 500 having 2 P&W R2800s, 2000+ HP which were way faster. You were lucky to stop in 3200'
preacher1
preacher1 1
I don't consider 35kts at the last turnout stopping.lol. I'll have to dig bak in old,old logbooks to see if I can find somes notes and exact type. Like I said, not sure of the
LH model number but I know for a fact that it was a LH reman, the only one they made that was cert for 1 man operation and it did have 2 r2800's. Seems to me they burnt around 1300gal per hour at cruise. Chief Pilot told it was a B23 reman; past that you know what I do.
rustyhill
rustyhill 2
In a DC-6 an R-2800 burns around 75 to 100 gallons per hour at a fairly high cruise power setting. At a lower power for a lighter airplane, 60 gallons per hour is doable. That is if you lean it to a 12 BMEP drop. If it won't run smoothly at a 12 BMEP drop, then a 2 drop should smooth it out, but uses more fuel by about 10%.
preacher1
preacher1 2
Thanks Rusty: I had corrected that fuel thing a few comments down. That 1300 gph was capacity, not per hour burn.lol

[This poster has been suspended.]

preacher1
preacher1 1
Karl: I am really not sure. That was in 68. All I can remember about it are a few specs. It was a Lockheed-Howard Reman and supposedly was the only one they put out that was cert for 1 man operation although it was lovely to have 2 on deck.I can remember they told me it was an ex Navy B23 Super Venturi Bomber. It was a tail dragger with a triple tail with 2 R2800 P&W's. Plushed up inside, it would carry about 14 people in the cabin plus 3 on the flight deck.That is about all I remember
chalet
chalet 1
preacher1 you say she had three tails, well the plane you flew is definitely the Lockedd Venura Howard mod. which had two empennages whereas the B-23 had only one which was very high.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Like I said, it's been 40+ years but I can definitely remember the tail as either being a double or triple. Definitely was NOT a single.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Karl: I cannot find a dang thing on that bird and to boot, I think most of the Howard stuff isn't even flying now. I see Chalet's post up here about the B23 and just honest to God don't remember and all my stuff is naturally filed as neat as can be(lol. That's 44 years back. I know it was a Lockheed Howard and similar in size/engines to the 500 and looks/capacity were about the same as a 500 but this one was definitely certified for 1 man operation and I know the 500 need 2.

[This poster has been suspended.]

preacher1
preacher1 1
I just honest to God can't remember. I said earlier the fuel burn was 1300 gph. That was capacity. I know it did have R 2800's and I could swear it had a triple tail, rather than double. It was pressurized as we were above 20 going most anywhere.As far as the one man certification, chief pilot told me it was, said it was the only one of the whole group LH made that was, all the rest were 2 man. That said, I never was in the cockpit by myself, so I dunno. You know, a 19 year old kid, getting all that time and instruction free,while in USAF to boot, and in the clear weather of Arizona. I wasn't thinking about a heck of a lot at the time except how to stay out of Vietnam.LOL(and didn't do that real good)
onceastudentpilot
tim mitchell 1
yes; that would be a sobering experience....In their case I just don't realize how they didn't question this line-up..They were probably doing 130 to 140; that runway had to look like a postage stamp.
preacher1
preacher1 1
One of the witnesses in the story said that it looked like the pilot may have tried do do something at the last minute. He must have already committed though. I'm like you, there is a lot of difference between 3200 and 11000. 1000 or so like I was talking about, well????? but dang, that's 8000'. Something went haywire and we'll probably never know.
editorialphotos
editorialphotos 1
I agree or something along my post or your post lines.I've seen some strang things with military and civilian mixes.
preacher1
preacher1 1

rgstalder3
Chris Gstalder 2
We ended up heading over to KTPF after work on the way to dinner. It became quite the neighborhood scene as the plane was getting ready to take off. Very impressive to see a plane of that size easily lift off from a short field, albeit with new pilots :)

Here was my vantage point: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=805M1svwp_8
alfredrogers
Alfred Rogers 2
It looked like a lost and lonely beached whale.
usaskiracer1210
alex miskell 2
I believe in the 1960's a PAN AM 727 landed at KOSU instead of Port Columbus. They have the same runways but are miles apart. If you are ever in the Ohio State University Flight Ops. office you can see a picture of the plane.
chris13
Chris Bryant 1
I'd have to see pics of KOSU and KCMH back then to compare.
Nowadays, there's no way you should make that mistake (KOSU has 4 runways vs. 2 at KCMH). Plus that big building in the middle (the terminal). And oh yeah, they're 16 miles apart and on different sides of the city!
unclebigpete
Peter Douglas 2
What a totally beat-up story. How could any military jet ever land by mistake - in broad daylight - on the wrong airport ? The runway at TPF is nearly the whole width of the island, so it'd be nearly impossible to mistake it for MacDill AFB. Journalists reporting aeronautical stuff should at least be a little bit aware of reality.
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
Except this journalist (The Tampa Tribune) wasn't editorialzing, rather reporting the event. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it probably wasn't part of his assignment to theorize on the cause.
joelwiley
joel wiley 1
Were you ever in the military?
jrsc
jesse murga 2
reminds me of back in the early '80s when a Piedmont 727 landed by mistake at DNL instead of AGS. that was also in daytime.
TiredTom
Tom Bruce 2
Had a United DC-8 lined up with McClellan field (10 miles east of Sac Metro) on a VISUAL approach - never wanting to embarrass a fellow airmen or get a pilot in trouble - it was a sign of the times - I advised,
"United 235 turn right for your left base entry to runway 16"
Boy, those landing lights made a quick turn toward the airport and they landed at the right place... never heard from the pilot nor did I expect to.. they bailed me out a number of times, too! old ATC guy..
k2lck
Ed Mentz 1
tlewis95630
tlewis95630 1
Hey Tom glad you are still active in aviation. I remember those days at KSMF. Always service oriented. Good job
steve6131
Stephen Peirson 2
Priceless LMFAO ....you got to be kidding me...How do you explain this one to your commanding officer LOL
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 2
If you believe in movies, you get sent to Top Gun! hehehehe
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Easy, if you intended to do it and was under command to do it and make it look like a mistake.
laxlover
Stephen Brown 1
Does anybody have a better video??
k2lck
Ed Mentz 1
and the pilot said, "damn, that runway wuz short", the right seat, looked out both the port and starboard windows and added, "kinda wide though"...
thomak
Thomas Kenney 1
Once upon a time a C-141 bound for KBED landed at KORH, it was daytime and CAVU.
Yankee1
Robert West 1
Funny how the view changes at altitude huh ? I went up one time to photgraph my house. Had a heck of a time finding it. Finally used WT navigation. What is WT navigatiion ? One of those tall white wind towers with the props on them !
preacher1
preacher1 1
Yeah it does, but I just can't believe 11000' would change that much.lol
ldean1
lealand dean 1
mariofer
mariofer 1
Good chance to practice short field OPS LOL.
RalphEastburn
Ralph Eastburn 1
Controllers monitor and track aircraft on radar until either see th airport or are on the IFR approach to the airport. What happend here is a fluster cluck on ATC and pilot.
k2lck
Ed Mentz 1
Story goes that a guy put a 52 with nukes aboard down at Bradley..Couldnt find Westover I guess... Happy ending tho, he is now the senior senator from *****.. GBG
craigpulliam
Craig Pulliam 1
Over the years, KTPF has had a French C130 land there (although they later tried to deny it), 2 F-4 Phantoms, an F106, and several other aircraft. Approaching from the East, both runways (KTPF and MacDill) are aligned, and both have a large body of water on the approach end of the runway. I've always thought the 8000' difference in the runways would be a tip off, but apparently not. I suspect that landing is a career ender for a couple of Air Force pilots, and some tower controllers, too.
drcart99
Douglas Carter 1
RalphEastburn
Ralph Eastburn 1
Pilot errow, but controllers should alerted the pilot they were lined up to land on the wrong airport. I am a retired air traffic controller and it happens.
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 1
Not sure how you make a visual error like this. 500 ft is minimums in a C 17, I think. When the pic saw the short runway and all the small aircraft at their tie downs he could a called a go around. Seems more like a planned error to me. But then I give flight crews too much credit sometimes.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Well, your planned error may be correct based on some other posts below here regarding clandestine cargo and a different crew flying it out later that day empty. We'll probably never know.
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 1
Hehehehe! National security.

You're right we'll never know
gearup328
Peter Steitz 1
Different crew because the original crew was probably grounded and on the way to HQ to explain what happened. Since this is a civilian airfield, the FAA will probably get involved too.
billindurham
Bill Watson 1
You know, once "airport in sight" and "cleared for the visual", it's tough to continue identifying the airport in a critical way. Instead, the tendency is to develop an explanation for any discrepancies observed. I'll bet the flight crew was aware something didn't seem right on short final but no one chose to speak up or act until too late. It's good to know the well trained can screw it up occasionally. Clearly it's best to be unobserved.
shattashaun
Shaun Schroeter 1
Ive mistaken Pompano for Ft. Lauderdale Executive coming in from the shoreline already so it happens i guess.
frankalbert
Frank Albert 1
I wonder how much damage that C-17 did to the subbase of the runway at KTPF. The C-17 weighs 134 tons empty and max landing weigt is 292 tons. MacDill's runways are designed and built to withstand that kind of pressure with aircraft weighing that heavy. I don't think KTPF is set up for that much weight hitting their much thinner runways construction. Then, I wonder who'll determine that KTPF's runway is in need of repair and who'll foot the bill...either way, us taxpayers for sure!
preacher1
preacher1 1
Not sure about the wheel config or the weight but one of the posts here below said KTPF was rated for 20,000lbs single whell and it should be OK.?????????
frankalbert
Frank Albert 1
From what I can tell, a C-17, with no cargo, has a main wheel loading of just over 23,000# per wheel.
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 1
preacher1
preacher1 1
That's what's strange. The story reported it came in from SW Asia. It had PAX on board and one can only assume cargo. According to a later post, it left out later in the evening mty, with a new crew. All past this point will be total conjecture as we won't hear anything from USAF.
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 1
One time shouldn't hurt but I wouldn't do it on a regular basis. If they got real good compaction to begin with the base should hold up. The 17 was designed for short and soft field ops, I think, pretty much like the 130 but better and bigger
SkyBaby2
Kira Andreola 1
Oops! lol Well anyone who likes to frequent that small airfield for a bit of spotting got a nice treat. I freak out whenever a small jet lands at TSP and rush the 10 minutes down there to go see it.
Vortex95
Tony Welch 1
Same here with me. The biggest jets I get to see down here in South Mississippi are chartered by USM into Hattiesburg.
winliggett
winliggett 1
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster plane lands at Peter O. Knight Airport

Tampa, Florida - A huge military plane from New Jersey may have mistaken the tiny runway at Peter O' Knight airport for the runway at MacDill Air Force Base.


http://www.wtsp.com/news/topstories/article/264736/250/Large-military-plane-lands-at-Peter-O-Knight-Airport
galarzar
galarzar 1
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

Large plane, small runway

Large C-17 lands on wrong airport, a few miles from McDill AFB.

http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/bn9/2012/7/20/large_military_cargo.html
WTuck
WTuck 1
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

Pilots land C-17 at wrong airport

Pilots were attempting to land at MacDill Airforce Base in Tampa but landed at Peter O Knight (KTPF). The runways are only 4 degrees off of each other and they are not the first ones to make the mistake.

http://yfrog.com/mk7ekz
twincessna
william koehler 1
Mac dill traffic is dangerous low on Vfr and ifr over south and north east hillsborough co. , where Mac dill and tampa are located, in order to avoid being handled by tampa. If landed at tampas vandenburg some days you are dodging c 17s and kc 135s at 1000 feet and below who are on a 15 mile final for Mac dill. This story has already been removed from tbo.com who reported it.
flyhigh2014
flyhigh2014 1
They were just showing off the landing capability of the C 17.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I can imagine that if the USAF says anything at all it will be something like "Tired pilot from SE Asia trip, NJ based and unfamiliar with MacDill, etc"
skylloyd
skylloyd 1
How about a desk jockey doing his annual check ride. LOL
preacher1
preacher1 1
Reckon he got signed off???LOL
joefly09
joefly09 1
hey thanks for the fly comment, guess next time the passengers will check their destination and boarding passes now.
gearup328
Peter Steitz 1
Yep, the Air Force will try to protect it's own but internally, these guys are in for a reprimand.
preacher1
preacher1 1
Yeah, as they say in the computer world, WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. As soon as all this dies down, we'll hear no more about it.LOL
spach
david alspach 1
in 67 a 707 driver went in to KOSU, Ohio State University, which is just over 9nm NW of the intended KCMH, Port Columbus International. This was on a visual approach and at that time both airports had the same runway configuration of 2 EW parallels and two crossing runways. OSU at that time had just over 4000' as the longest. An embarrassing call to tower after landing then removal of all seats etc and a test pilot to get 707 over to CMH on minimum fuel.
preacher1
preacher1 1
I think there is a post way below describing the same incident except he remembers it as a PanAm 727 and his dates are not exacting as yours.
markcolasacco
Mark Colasacco 1
Needless to say....AMAZING!
Cycreek
Benson Vann 1
Sounds like the Continental flight that landed at a Naval training field in Corpus Christi a few years ago. Muni field is W of town while they chose to land S of town.

Few months later Cont. put one down at the wrong location in Louisiana.
joefly09
joefly09 1
this is what you call real pilot error and also compass headiing error. I would suggest one of the airports changing it's runway number unless they want this to happen again. it might not end so pertty. Second, lets not forget when Boeing designed this they were thinking of short takeoffs and landings this aircriaft is well built, just hope it did not stress it too much.
custerisus
d. thayer 1
Hmm, McDonnell Douglas design. Boeing inherited it from the merger.
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
If I'm not mistaken, Boeing only took over the AH-64 and Light Helicopters. Right or wrong????
preacher1
preacher1 1
I thought they got the whole company??????????????????????????
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
It appears I should have done my homework before posting. I worked at the Apache plant when the merger took place, and I guess we must have been too focused on our own welfare. Mea culpa. You're both correct.
xtoler
Larry Toler 1
Boeing took all of MD. Were you with the Apache when it was still Hughes prior to the MD takeover?
beltran2035
Beatriz McNulty 1
Anyone have information about JetBlue shacking syndrome?? please
thefaceman
Larry Humphrey 1
What a way to get troops to the Times Forum next month if they have to just minutes away
skylloyd
skylloyd 1
These people did a great job of the landing, and take-off. I can only imagine that they were committed to land because of not knowing what the traffic was around them, otherwise, this could have done a T&G. They practice this all the time here at McChord AFB.
editorialphotos
editorialphotos 2
brought another crew in to fly out at 8PM not the crew that landed. Check out the story again.
skylloyd
skylloyd 1
Darn it! I hate it when I don't express myself correctly, thanks for catching it..
I'll do better the next time.
Anbu
Andreas Buehler 1
I know that the media is more interested in sensationalisms because that sells better then the real facts. The thought that a crew flying this airplane from Asia to the US nonstop could possibly slightly fatigued doesn't occur to these poeple. Pilots have made this same mistake on much shorter flights!
talbotent
Roy Talbot 1
great flying anyway
vanstaalduinenj
Jon Van Staalduinen 1
It landed safely, no harm no foul, even gave some excitement to an otherwise sleepy day in Tampa
richfinck
Richard Finck 1
Could be career ending.
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 1
Or they may have been under orders
TWA55
TWA55 1
I have seen this happen twice in the area in which I used to live and an aborted landing as well in the same. Turning off the Flight Director at night is one such way this can happen when you have multiple airports in the vacinity and you get too "familiar". All these incidents were airlines and in one case a jet.
Yankee1
Robert West 1
Is this part of "The Romance of Aviation"?
chalet
chalet 1
Great plane, great landing, pilot out of a job.
planeman33
Donald Rand 1
The OSU landing was a TWA 707, A 727 is a short field acft by comparison
arunhn
Arun Nair 1
Wonder if the pilots were super tired after their long flight back home... well, good thing these awesome aircraft has such small takeoff and landing runway requirement.
eagle5719
eagle5719 1
The problem here, for the Air Force, is how to retrieve their airplane. The C-17 apparently didn't need a very long runway to land - KTPF's longest runway is only 3410 feet, (3/21). 3410 feet may not be enough for takeoff however. They probably will either have to install rocket assist pods on it or take the plane apart and ship it back to MacDill AFB.
preacher1
preacher1 1
One of these post below said it left that same afternoon and it is designed for short field in and out. Again, see below.
eagle5719
eagle5719 1
Tried to find that post - no luck. But good to know they flew it out and didn't need to cut it up for parts - LOL
preacher1
preacher1 1
editorialphotos 3 days ago2Downvote
Upvote

brought another crew in to fly out at 8PM not the crew that landed. Check out the story again.

It' about 8/10 comments down below here on mine. All I know
mhlansdell00
Mark Lansdell 1
Read / watch the article again. The brought in another crew and took off that afternoon or the next. Hardly used 2/3 of the RW. Quite impressive really.
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
How could it had not been Pilot Error... I mean really, a 11,000' runway and a 3,300 foot runway look a lot different from the air... He should have suspected something was wrong on short final and executed a missed approach... Clearly pilot error.
thomasfarr
thomas farr 1
well thta landing must of been tough going. I have seen 2 BA 747's land at EGBB the once looked so elegant on short final. Also i have seen an A380 on short finalm, That plane is one pig looking thing all the time more so at low speeds.
RobSJC
Clement [email protected] 1
Sorry .. this is old news
FBFlyAgent
Darin Paul 1
Tedmichaelmorgan
Ted Morgan 1
Years ago, pilots frequently mistook the airport in Athens, Georgia for one in Anderson, South Carolina and the other way as well. They are not even close to each other.

This aircraft, fortunately, is designed to land and take off from short fields if it must.
preacher1
preacher1 1
That is true on it's STOL capabilities but as with any AC, you have to set up and plan for it. I don't think he planned for this, at least the landing.LOL
Tedmichaelmorgan
Ted Morgan 1
Yes, and obviously, this crew was not! Lucky people, really.
kirstycrow
Kirsty Crow 1
This is not as uncommon as you would think. One notable occasion that springs to mind is when Pan Am Boeing 707 N725PA landed at Northolt instead of Heathrow back on 25th October 1960. A Lufthansa Boeing 707 attempted to do the same thing in April 1964
RobSJC
Clement [email protected] 1
Would love to have seen this .. Makes for awsome photo ops.. Thanks USAF .. We salute you .. on a job well done .. for both the arrival and departure ! It is said the USAF has the technical solutions, for military strategy .. and this is the proof.
crk112
crk112 0
The media is still the stupidest looking one out of this entire thing.
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
Not really. The media reported what happened, not what they as journalists, not pilots, could theorize was the cause.
shawngriffith
shawngriffith -3
I have landed here many times in my King Air C90B (twin Turboprop), and it is a challenging airport even in that airplane. I can't imagine how they will get the C-17 out of there??
HunterTS4
Toby Sharp 8
Because the C-17(Quad-Jet) has tremendous short field capabilities
dawebb58
Daniel Webb 4
It was hard to see the wing configuration in the landing video, but I suspect the pilot would like that one back. It could have been a picturesque landing if the ship were configured properly.
editorialphotos
editorialphotos 3
The main reason it was built! Thank you for being accurate Toby. Appreciate that.
STEELJAW
STEELJAW 2
Exactly, the C-17 was built from the grond up for short takeoff and landing DIRT airfields. A 3600FT paved airstrip is no problem for these aircraft. I see the 172nd fly in/out of JAN (Jackson,MS) every week landing and taking off using only half of a 8000FT runway. Landing a loaded C-17 on 3600FT is not as big a pucker factor as taking off on one. This just goes to show you that regardless of the mistaken runway ID, that this C-17 and crew has the right stuff. Hand Salute!
editorialphotos
editorialphotos -5
The real issue is what was the cargo that the AF didn't want anyone paying any attention to. Make a look-like wrong landing. New crew takes off and flys out and the focus is on the crew and not on the plane. My oh my. What a tangled web we weave!
sparkie624
sparkie624 1
Good point. They go and off load without attention on the real subject... Not like the Military or Government has ever mislead us :)
dawebb58
Daniel Webb 1
So what REALLY happened around Mena, Arkansas during the Iran-Contra days? Did Clinton ever spill his guts? Now, there's a real legend for you conspiracy fans to chew on.
preacher1
preacher1 1
It wasn't a legend but it never really came clean.LOL
STEELJAW
STEELJAW 1
You must be an ex-military spook or with the news media to ask that question. It's a darn good question. I would've pulled the same stunt if I was trying to hide something. Now,the 64$ question is, why MacDill???
AWAAlum
AWAAlum 1
The article mentioned 23 passengers and 19 crew but not a word about of cargo. The only time that word appeared was when they referenced the plane as a cargo jet. I'm aware it's highly probably there was cargo, but it's an assumption.
futurepilot6
Ryan Robinson 0
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

C-17 accidentally lands at wrong Florida airport

A C-17 Globemaster III headed for MacDill Air Force Base on Friday afternoon landed “inadvertently” at the much smaller Peter O. Knight GA airport located just a few miles away, according to airport authorities.

http://www.flyingmag.com/pilots-places/pilots-adventures-more/video-c-17-accidentally-lands-small-ga-airport
yr2012
matt jensen -1
Empty with only min fuel to get her to MacDill - it was a smooth t/o. Seen plenty of them doing t&g's at Homestead.
preacher1
preacher1 2
Interesting; you comment about her being epmpty and min fuel and the post right above makes mention of a clandestine type cargo that off loaded there.. It came in loaded from SW Asia, according to the article.
leesfeed
Steven Lee 0
(Duplicate Squawk Submitted)

C-17 Lands at the wrong airport

C-17 lands at Tampa's Peter O. Knight airport on a 3,580 ft runway instead of Mac Dill AFB on their 11,421 ft. runway.

http://www.9news.com/news/world/279177/347/Caught-on-Camera-Massive-military-plane-lands-at-wrong-airport
drcart99
Douglas Carter -2
I wonder if they were asked to contact the tower.
daltons48
David Dalton -3
Only in America, typical USAF all the gear, no idea!!! One of the expensive planes in the world and they can't even find the correct runway, very very funny

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