Xyzzy

Would CO use the car or truck lanes, or would that depend on whether the aircraft had one aisle or two?!

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

Needless to say there have been a lot of posts about the 10/28 incident. I flew into LGA that night on a 757 and it was very windy and yes we were being rocked about. However, it was very clear and visibility was excellent.

Futhermore, this was a 757 captain (not someone in the minors flying a prop) landing in a major CO hub. While we should not overly rush to judgement that fact that an experienced captian that could not tell the runway from the taxiway (which are away from runways and in this case near buildings) is scary.

TWA Fan 1

ERJ's: Car lanes. Mainline: Truck lanes Heavies: Oversize Vehicle sign

DebbieS

A few quick questions....

(1) exactly what time(hour:minute) did the CO 757 land?

(2) did any passenger from that flight notice it?

(3) are those pilots still flying as of today? (should they?)

(4) are there electronic devices that can alert the tower
or the pilots that the plane is on the wrong runway/
taxiway?

(5) if you are on a plane and notice that your pilot is
about to land on a taxiway(or take off from a taxiway),
what do you do? Scream? Find a flight attendant?
Call FAA or 911? (probably even worse if you're in the
very first window seat in the nose of a 747)

Thanks!

DebbieS

a 757 with 100+ passengers should be able to use the HOV lanes....

TWA Fan 1

I believe it was 6:33 PMI don't know, but as a passenger it might be very difficult to notice this because once you've landed you're on a long, fairly wide strip of pavement that looks not very different from a runwayTo my knowledge they have been suspended by CO pending the NTSB investigationThere is ground radar, I'm not sure if EWR has itIf you have time to notice and you're alive to scream you probably won't realize what has just happened.

TWA Fan 1

LOL Where does that leave an A-380?

MiamiAirport Formerly NY George

It was around 630PM, about 30 minutes after sunset. The pilots are not flying pending investigation. I live in NYC but have seen no media interviews of paxs (although there may have been some). As far as I know there is nothing to alert the tower other than a visual observation that the plane is landing in the wrong place. As far as what to do, probably too late by then and would very quickly go into the brace position to soften the blow of anything that the aircraft might hit upon landing.

DebbieS

The A380 will be allowed to use two HOV lanes.... FAA has ordered Airbus to install bright yellow "WIDE LOAD" signs on all A380s....

ewrfox

To answer 4), the tower was alerted by someone from the PA admin building when the aircraft zoomed by

As has been said the pilots have been grounded, and I would think someone from OPS is going to get it, for not grounding the aircraft as well..

ContinentalFan

The NTSB now has the full text of the preliminary report on its website; here's the link.

What I find interesting is that there were four flight attendants. I always recall seeing five attendants on the B757-200's--is four the legal minimum?


NTSB Identification: NYC07IA015
Scheduled 14 CFR Part 121: Air Carrier operation of CONTINENTAL AIRLINES INC
Accident occurred Saturday, October 28, 2006 in Newark, NJ
Aircraft: Boeing 757-224, registration: N17105
Injuries: 154 Uninjured.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed.

On October 28, 2006, at 1831 eastern daylight time, a Boeing 757-224, N17105, operated by Continental Airlines as flight 1883, was not damaged while landing on taxiway Zulu, at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Newark, New Jersey. There were no injuries to the 2 certificated airline transport pilots, 4 flight attendants, or 148 passengers. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed for the flight, which originated at Orlando International Airport (MCO), Orlando, Florida. The scheduled passenger flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 121.

According to a representative of the operator, the flight crew was cleared by air traffic control for the ILS RWY 22L approach, and was instructed to circle to land on runway 29. The flight crew conducted the approach without any abnormalities; however, after landing, they realized they inadvertently landed on taxiway Zulu, instead of runway 29.

Runway 29 was a 6,800 foot-long, and 150 foot-wide runway, equipped with high-intensity runway edge lights, centerline lights (CL), and runway end identifier lights (REIL). Runway 29 was also equipped with a precision approach path indicator (PAPI) which was located on the right side of the runway. Taxiway Zulu was aligned parallel, and to the right of runway 29.

According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the airplane touched down near the intersection of Taxiway Romeo. The inspector additionally reported that all lighting systems for runway 29 and taxiway Zulu were illuminated and operating normally.

The weather reported at 1751, included wind from 280 degrees at 25 knots, gusting to 34 knots, 10 statute miles visibility, and a broken ceiling at 7,000 feet.

TWA Fan 1

Unless there are more facts it appears it was just a pure case of pilot error. Very odd, especially given the significant difference in lighting between the runway and the taxiway.

Perhaps the sun glare of the dusk on this visual landing is a likely cause for the mistake.

Thank goodness no one was injured. Had another a/c been taxiing on Zulu it would have been a horrific tragedy.

J.Edward

I think so - 1 FA for every 50 passangers and the 752 max pax capacity is 175.

TWA Fan 1

This is another interesting point. Touching down near the intersection of taxiway Romeo would indicate they were coming in pretty high, since Taxiway R is about 1,000 ft beyond the "piano keys" of RWY 29.

Also, taxiway Zulu has a curve about 2/3 of the way down and by touching down at the area of TXY R this means they got pretty close to this curve of TXY Z.

Had they overshoot the curve, there would still have been pavement, but there was a chance of damaging taxiway lighting fixtures.

ContinentalFan

I am curious about what really went on there. The initial press reports made it sound as if the pilot was being responsible--a drunk driver looking for a transfusion--I think people on this thread cleared up why the pilot acted appropriately. The thing is that there are two people in the cockpit, so whatever happened to produce this landing most probably appeared appropriate to both the pilot and first officer. It sounds like something can be learned here about landing on that runway in the conditions that prevailed at the time.