Continental MCO to EWR blunder

[BigTigger]

From the NY Post

AIRLINE PILOT IN BLUNDER LAND
TOUCHES DOWN ON NEWARK TAXIWAY
By MURRAY WEISS and JEREMY OLSHAN
October 31, 2006 -- A catastrophe was narrowly averted when a jetliner landed on a narrow taxiway at Newark Airport instead of on the runway, The Post has learned.

In an astonishing screw-up Saturday, the pilot of Continental Flight 1883 touched down on a taxiway just to the north of the runway - only feet from administrative buildings. Then he proceeded to the gate as if nothing had happened, sources said yesterday.

"To say this is lucky was an understatement," one source said.

"This is a big f- - -ing deal! How do you land a jet on a taxiway?"

FAA investigators are trying to figure out what caused the "pilot deviation," officials said yesterday.

Although no one was hurt, experts say there could have been a disaster had another plane been on the taxiway at the time.

The Boeing 757-200, flying in from Orlando, Fla., made a standard approach over the New Jersey Turnpike.

But rather than landing on the 6,800-foot-long, 150-foot-wide Runway 29, it touched down on the 70-foot-wide taxiway at 6:31 p.m., sources said.

The wingspan of the jet is 155 feet.

The pilot made such a short stop, he left skid marks on the taxiway, which were later found by police investigating the bizarre incident, according to a source.

Experts said they were baffled how, on a clear night, the pilot could mistake a runway for a taxiway.

The sun had set at 5:58 p.m.

The plane carried 157 passengers and a crew of six, airline officials said.

Port Authority police were immediately notified.

But the pilot didn't hang around to explain himself.

"There was no acknowledgement from the crew they had landed at the taxiway," the source said.

Regulations require a pilot to notify the control tower if the runway is missed, sources said.

The penalties for the failure to call the tower may be more severe than for the mistake itself, another source said.

It's possible the passengers had no idea what had occurred, the sources said.

FAA officials would say only that the matter is "under investigation."

Continental said it has grounded the pilots pending the investigation.

"We are conducting a review of the landing to determine how it occurred," spokeswoman Mary Clark said.

"The pilots have been temporarily removed from flying duties and are assisting the company in analyzing the incident," she said.

"We have a very strong focus on safety, and plan to use any findings to help avoid a reoccurrence in the future."

The error is serious enough that the pilots could face fines or suspensions, and possibly license revocation, the sources said.

The names of the pilot and second-in-command were not made public.

The administration buildings alongside the taxiway house PA offices and fire equipment, officials said.

PA officials did not return calls for comment.

 

[BigTigger]

PILOT: WHAT GOOF?
'FALSE' STORY OF NEWARK LANDING
By BILL SANDERSON
FLASHBACK: How The Post broke the story.November 1, 2006 -- The blundering pilot of a Continental jetliner who landed on a taxiway at Newark Airport tried to cover up his astonishing mistake by telling an air-traffic controller, "I just cleared the runway," The Post has learned.

That was clearly untrue, because Flight 1883 from Orlando had never been on the runway Saturday evening, sources said.

And what exactly the pilots said to each other after their colossal foul-up will never be known for sure - the cockpit voice recorder was taped over, a National Transportation Safety Board spokesman said.

The plane, carrying 157 passengers and a crew of six, approached Newark from the north, and then turned west to land on Runway 29.

Everything seemed normal in the moments before the Boeing 757 landed at about 6:30 p.m., said Russell Halleran, head of Newark's air-controllers union.

The controller handling the flight turned his attention to other traffic. When he checked again on Flight 1883, Halleran said, he saw the jet rolling slowly on Taxiway Zulu, just north of Runway 29.

That was a little unusual - if the plane were headed to the terminals, it would likely have used a taxiway to the south, Halleran explained.

So the controller radioed the pilot to ask what happened.

According to Halleran, the pilot answered: "I just cleared the runway. Now I'm taxiing west on Zulu."

"The controller didn't think much of it at that point," Halleran said.

But then, the tower got a call from a frightened employee at a Port Authority building next to the taxiway.

"We just had some airplane go by on Taxiway Zulu real quick," the caller said.

The controller notified his supervisor.

In a radio conversation with the supervisor, the pilot quickly admitted he'd missed the runway and landed on the taxiway, Halleran said.

The cockpit voice recorder would have picked up any talk between the pilot and co-pilot. But the recorder operates on a half-hour loop, and the plane was sent on other flights before the voice recording could be removed, officials said.

That the pilots' talk was taped over raises questions about Continental's procedures, said Daniel Rose, a pilot and aviation lawyer with the Manhattan firm Kreindler and Kreindler.

"That's important evidence that needs to be preserved," he said.

Both pilots have thousands of hours of commercial flight experience, Continental said.

 

[Edd]

While in the Air Force my MO was Air Traffic Control and I worked in the control tower at Tyndall AFB, 1961, and Lajes AFB before continuing in the civilian service.

One night I was working, with trainee, and it was real slow. I had a T-33 flying in VFR from California. After turning final from base on a jet fighter approach I noticed the plane seemed to be lined up with the taxiway that run in front of the tower. Remember taxiway lights are blue and runway lights are white. I asked the pilot about 1 1/2 miles out if he was lined up with the runway and he said affirmative. A few seconds later I asked him again if he was lined up with the runway. He again said affirmative. At about 1/2 mile out, as I was watching the airplane, I felt he was lining up with the taxiway. Without hesitation, I told him to, go around, he picked it up and passed almost directly over the tower at about 200 feet. He came back around and lined up with the inside parallel runway, landing without incident.

About 45 minutes later I could feel someone coming up the stairs of the tower. A full bird colonel came in and stood in front of me. I was an A1c. He thanked me for sending him around and possibly saving his life, probably mine too as he wouldn't have had much to turn to hit the tower. He admitted he was very tired after a hard day and a long flight back to Tyndall. He was flying alone, I assume. I personally think he made his mistake because he was so tired. You really have to be tired to mistake blue lights for white lights. They sure don't land on taxiway for the adventure of it. Those pilots were probably tired also after a flight from Orlando, or maybe to much partying here in Orlando.

So that to me is the only excuse the pilots on the Continental could have for touching down on the taxiway. I am surprised the controller had no knowledge, because as a controller for either A or B positions in the tower my eyes were always on the field and the aircraft operating on it.