Boeing Dreamlifter safely takes off from runway considered too short
Nov 21, 2013, 6:03 AM | Updated: 12:20 pm
A Boeing Dreamlifter safely took off from a runway in Wichita considered 3,000 feet too short of ideal at about 11:15 a.m. PST.
The plane landed Wednesday night at the wrong airport.
A Dreamlifter is the modified Boeing 747 that was created to shuttle giant parts of the 787 from around the world to the Everett assembly line.
This plane was on its way from New York to McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita. For some reason, the pilots put the plane down at Jabara Airport, about six miles north of where they were supposed to land.
This was not an emergency landing. There was no problem with the plane. The pilot just landed in the wrong place.
There was a concern early on that the Dreamlifter wouldn’t be able to leave because the runway at Jabara is only 6,100 feet long, and the plane usually needs about 9,100 feet of runway space.
A tug was brought in from McConnell Air Force Base to turn the plane around, but Van Williams, with the City of Wichita, said it was a little tricky pulling that off. “I would call it more than a three-point turn,” he said.
The FAA is investigating why the pilots landed at the wrong airport.
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