Expert Opinion
AIN Blog: How Wrong-airport Landings Could Happen and How They Can Be Prevented
On final to Branson Airport in WingX Pro7 (X-Plane simulation). The iPad moving map makes it easy to see the location of the destination airport.
On final to Branson Airport in WingX Pro7 (X-Plane simulation). The iPad moving map makes it easy to see the location of the destination airport.

Look, it could happen to any of us. Landing at the wrong airport is not that hard.

It happened again Sunday evening, when a Southwest Airlines 737-700 made a relatively short landing at M. Graham Clark Downtown Airport (KPLK) in Branson, Mo. (actually one mile south of downtown Branson), six miles north of the destination airport, Branson Airport (KBBG). This is the second recent wrong-airport landing by a large commercial airplane. A Boeing Dreamlifter cargo carrier operated by Atlas Air landed at the wrong airport in Wichita in November. They were headed for McConnell Air Force Base (KIAB) but landed at smaller Jabara Airport (KAAO), nine miles northeast of the intended destination.

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Matt Thurber
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