U turn on runway?
Nov 20, 1999 | 6:02 am
#1
Original Poster
Company Representative - Air Canada
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Canada
Posts: 24,224
U turn on runway?
Just landed in YOW on a flight from YYZ and it's 7:30 in the morning. By the amount of reverse thrust and braking the captain used on landing, he was clearly trying shorten the landing distance and get to the gate faster. He missed the first taxi exit.. and to my surprise he did a U turn on the runway. Has anyone had this experience before? Not in my 15 years of travel. I think they'll probably have to get ATC approval before doing it and it's early in the morning??
Regards,
Empress
Regards,
Empress
Nov 20, 1999 | 6:27 am
#2
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Programs: AA2MM
Posts: 1,754
Some of the Carribean airports don't have taxiways, so you have to make a U-turn to taxi back to the terminal. Also, made a U-turn in PHL last March... we had been holding because of wx delays, then the crew was about to expire for the day, so we taxied down the runway to go to the terminal, but then the wx cleared and the crew decided to fly it, and did a u-turn to get back to the end of the runway for take-off.
Nov 20, 1999 | 12:40 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Far forward aisle seat please!
Programs: UA MP, AA Advantage, IHG, HH
Posts: 322
U-Turns on runways are quite common at some far flung airports that have no taxi-ways due to space limitations. St. Maarten, St. Barts, Saba, Nevis, Seychelles, Male (Maldives) are among them known to me. Of course after landing at St. Barts which is an extreme experience, you will forget all about the u-turn!
Nov 20, 1999 | 2:04 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Everywhere
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Yes, I have seen this. A couple of times on small planes at CRW, where I think the taxiway doesn't quite extend the full length of the runway, and once at ROC in a 737 because the taxiway was under construction.
Nov 21, 1999 | 4:25 pm
#9
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Join Date: May 1998
Location: Ormond Beach, FL USA
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Hve experienced this twice when construction
was in progress. Seems like airports require a grest deal of construction/repair.
was in progress. Seems like airports require a grest deal of construction/repair.
Nov 21, 1999 | 5:50 pm
#10
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Manassas VA
Posts: 145
I watched a US Gvt VIP 737 doing short field work at Morgantown WV. They would stop past the last taxiway (at least the last one they could use) and need to U turn to get back to a taxiway.
U-turns on an active runway take a fair bit of runway time - wouldn't happen at LAX.
Tom
U-turns on an active runway take a fair bit of runway time - wouldn't happen at LAX.
Tom
Nov 21, 1999 | 5:56 pm
#11
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: Everywhere
Programs: UA MM; DL SPG HH Gold
Posts: 635
newself,
I was in Charleston, WV for the first three months of this year for work. Unfortunately, I didn't find the social opportunities too rewarding in the area so I left every weekend, except the first and the last, that I was there. That is why I got to fly out of and into CRW so many times. On the last approach (peeking over the shoulders of the J31 crew) I saw the runway and I thought, "I'll probably never see this again..."
I was in Charleston, WV for the first three months of this year for work. Unfortunately, I didn't find the social opportunities too rewarding in the area so I left every weekend, except the first and the last, that I was there. That is why I got to fly out of and into CRW so many times. On the last approach (peeking over the shoulders of the J31 crew) I saw the runway and I thought, "I'll probably never see this again..."
Nov 21, 1999 | 6:34 pm
#12
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Canada
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I get to do U-turns all the time on many smaller airport runways in Canada. Even occasionally has happened on a major airport (Calgary, Edmonton) but this tends to be rare.
Nov 21, 1999 | 7:29 pm
#13
Original Poster
Company Representative - Air Canada
Join Date: May 1999
Location: Canada
Posts: 24,224
I think the pilot was just lazy because the next taxiway was at the other end of the runway I found out at takeoff from YOW. I thought the plane was going off the runway when he started the U turn and he must have killed the brakes with the force I felt.
Regards,
Empress
Regards,
Empress
Nov 22, 1999 | 6:02 am
#15
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Northern England
Posts: 1,594
Arrived at BWI last weekend in a 737 shuttle, and the pilot did a 180 degree turn on the runway to take an exit that was a reverse to the direction of travel. I could see the next plane approaching the runway as we turned. We were running late (now there's a surprise).
Tim
Tim