Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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#1528256
chevvron wrote:
Joe Dell wrote:Last year year I flew, for the first time, into a grass strip to pick up two pilots who'd each left their aircraft for maintenance. Tricky approach into a low sun. Nice gentle touchdown in the stubble field next to the runway. Nobody noticed. :D

Bit like my brother a few years back at a strip in France. Made all calls, landed, taxied in, then someone casually asked 'why did you land on ze taxiway?'


Our local is a grass strip with a nice wide grass taxiway beside it. Went for a refresher bimble with an instructor a couple of weeks ago after being out of the plane for a few months. Turn final, line up nicely on the taxiway centreline, realise what I've done and correct :oops:

(I don't think he noticed, but the landing was a bit of a stinker too so around we went for another one)
#1528275
A year or so ago I landed on the wrong bit of grass at a strip, despite having flown in there many times over 10+ years. The grass of the entire wider airfield was cut, except for one nice long wrong rectangular section - just to the right of the actual strip, and onto which I landed! A week or so earlier someone did the same at Bolt Head, but with a less than satisfactory outcome.

To add to a bad day, my take-off went wrong too. As the tail came up I realized I was shooting off to the left, and narrowly missed a traffic cone. (We figured that my regular passenger inadvertently put in some rudder. I've since always positively checked his feet are clear of the pedals.)

Someone earlier made reference to a landing on the taxiway at Gatwick about 20 years ago. ISTR it was a BAC 1-11 landing at night.

I know nothing about Hollywood actors, but stones and glass-houses spring to mind.
#1528277
Sheila Scott took off on a taxiway at Heathrow at the start of her round the world flight about 50ish years ago.(Carol Vorderman eat your heart out)
The 'taxiway' at Gatwick was actually the newly completed second runway being use as a taxiway.
Last edited by chevvron on Tue Apr 04, 2017 1:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
#1528287
I once mistook the runway end markings for the runway start markings when we were using the (in those days bent) taxiway at Redhill as the grass was too soggy. I landed beautifully on the marks and was then confused by the rapidly approaching hard right turn.
#1528297
That is a good pragmatic approach by the FAA and is a good example of how acknowledging mistakes shouldn't automatically lead to 'enforcement' action. Besides it encourages people to own up to errors and not try to hide them, so we can learn from them. Bet he doesn't do this again !
leiafee, kanga, Melanie Moxon and 5 others liked this
#1528334
No names but five or six years ago at a fly in on Lundy Island I was chatting to one of the organisers when we heard a rapidly approaching aircraft at low level and were stunned to see a Jodel or similar aircraft pop over the stone wall and make a beautiful landing between the two lines of parked aeroplanes. He obviously mistook the nice straight line between the parked aeroplanes as the runway. I'm not sure the pilot has been allowed to forget it, maybe "he should have gone to Specsavers" :roll:
User avatar
By Paul_Sengupta
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1545669
Air Canada attempts the same.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-40571913

It says Flight AC759 from Toronto was cleared to land on a runway last Friday, but the pilot "inadvertently" lined up for a taxiway where four aircraft were waiting to depart.
An air traffic controller became aware of the problem and ordered the pilot to pull up and make another approach.

The Airbus 320 then landed safely.

The FAA is currently investigating the distance between the Air Canada aircraft and the aircraft lined up on the taxiway, which runs parallel to the runway.
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