A plane landed at the wrong airport on Wednesday night. The Boeing 747 Dreamlifter cargo plane was supposed to fly to the McConnell Air Force Base from New York JFK Airport, however it landed at Jabara Airport near Wichita instead and now it might be stuck there.
"A Dreamlifter bound for McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita safely landed this evening at nearby Col. James Jabara Airport instead. We are working to determine next steps and will have additional information in the morning," Boeing said in a statement according to USA Today.
When the plane landed at the airport on Wednesday night, there was concern that the small airport's 6,100-foot runway may not be able to accommodate the large jet so that it could take off as it needs 9,199 feet of space. However the plane was later scheduled to take off from the airport at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
According to air traffic control recordings, it seems as if they pilot confused the airports. The Dreamlifter jet was given clearance to land at McConnell AFB but it somehow wound up landing nine mile away at Jabara at 9:20 p.m. CT on Wednesday.
According to audio from LiveATC.net, one of the pilots can be heard reporting to the McConnell control tower saying "Ahh, yes sir, we just landed at the other airport."
The Wall Street Journal reports that in the records, the crew seems to be disoriented about exactly where they were. At one point they though they had landed at Beech Factory Airport, which is home to Beechcraft Inc.'s facilities. Yet the large jet, which can carry up to 65,000 cubic feet of cargo, found itself at Jabara. Jabara doesn't have a control tower and isn't made for jumbo jets.
According to the City of Wichita's Twitter account, no one was injured in the incident and there are no reports of damage to the property or the plane.
The Boeing Dreamlifter was made to carry large pieces of the 787 Dreamliner from suppliers to assembly line locations so the planes could be put together. Boeing says the jet can carry more cargo that any other plane in the world.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
