174fps 1 #1 September 4, 2003 'Lost' Air Canada plane nearly hits B.C. Cessna Impeded by fires, Airbus approaches too-short airstrip Tom Blackwell National Post Officials are trying to determine why an Air Canada jetliner with 87 passengers on board appeared on the verge of landing at the wrong airport, head-on toward another plane, after becoming "lost" over mountainous British Columbia terrain recently. A small Cessna was attempting to touch down at the opposite end of the same runway at tiny Vernon airport and veered out of the way, in an incident one aviation insider called a "huge embarrassment." Had the Airbus A319 from Toronto landed, it would have faced major problems, because the strip is too short for such planes. The Air Canada pilots, who were making a visual approach because of restrictions imposed by nearby forest fires, finally pulled back up. After air traffic controllers informed them they were in the wrong place, the pilots flew 60 kilometres south to Kelowna, the correct destination, and landed safely. "The pilots descended low enough that, for all intents and purposes, they appeared to be lost, and that's a concern," said Bill Yearwood, regional manager of the Transportation Safety Board. "It is important for aircraft and pilots and operations to always know where they are and where they're going." The safety board has launched an investigation into the incident, which occurred just before 7 p.m. on Aug. 23, concerned about how and why the plane got so low that it lost sight of its intended destination. Mr. Yearwood said it is unlikely the incident could have resulted in an accident, because visibility was good and the crew would have been able to avoid any obstacles, even if they were lost. They also would have eventually noticed they were at the wrong airport and avoided landing at Vernon, he said. But one airline industry source called the episode unheard of for pilots of a modern plane with cutting-edge navigational systems. "It's a huge embarrassment," said the source, a pilot who asked not to be identified. "My guess is the guys just had their heads out the window and weren't aware of where they were ... Truth is, this could have been very serious." The flight management system aboard an Airbus has a "moving map" display that shows the plane's position relative to airports. It should have made it clear Air Canada Flight 183 was in the wrong spot, the pilot said. Runway 23 at Vernon is 3,360 feet long, less than the minimum of about 3,800 feet needed to land such a plane, a discrepancy that could have led to an over-run of the strip, the source said. Laura Cooke, an Air Canada spokeswoman, said she could offer few comments about the incident while it is under investigation, except that the plane made one approach, did a "go around," meaning the approach was aborted, then landed safely. The raging forest fires in the region helped set up the incident. The flight carrying 87 passengers and a crew of five would normally have landed at Kelowna using instruments. But using instruments could have led the plane into restricted airspace, where water bombers and firefighting helicopters need to fly unimpeded, Mr. Yearwood said. For that reason, the Air Canada crew was told to make a visual approach. While airlines have pre-set procedures for visual landings at different airports, Air Canada has no such guidelines for approaching Kelowna runway 15 in that direction. The crew had to come up with its own plan. For reasons yet to be determined, the pilots descended so low, to about 2,100 feet eventually, that they lost sight of Kelowna airport, Mr. Yearwood said. They were soon "lined up" with the runway at Vernon airport, and pilots at that airfield reported the Air Canada jet appeared on the approach to land there, he said. However, the board has not determined whether the crew did try to touch down at the wrong airport. An occurrence report filed with Transport Canada by air traffic controllers said they got a call moments later from the pilot of a Cessna 152 who said he had been preparing to land at one end of Vernon runway 23 when he saw the Airbus coming in from the other direction. The Cessna pilot with Okanagan Aviation Services "gave way and observed the aircraft in the missed approach," the report said. Mr. Yearwood said it is unclear how close the aircraft were to each other. "Certainly it would make a big impression on a little pilot that doesn't normally see big airplanes in the area, coming at him from the other side," he said. The Cessna pilot declined to comment. tblackwell@nationalpost.com John Smith posted this on CSPA chat The Cessna pilot is one of the Vernon DZ jumppilots Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #2 September 4, 2003 nervous lol.... But that would have been a nice plane upgrade for the DZ there! lol That airline is scaring me more and more every day... I'm flying to Vancouver in 2 weeks, and West Jet sounds better and better all the time! lolRemster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kingbunky 3 #3 September 4, 2003 west jet kicks ass! i'd take them over air canada anytime... "Hang on a sec, the young'uns are throwin' beer cans at a golf cart." MB4252 TDS699 killing threads since 2001 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Remster 30 #4 September 4, 2003 Quotewest jet kicks ass! i'd take them over air canada anytime... You obviously dont have a quazillion aeroplan points with them!Remster Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #5 September 4, 2003 Um, didn't air traffic control say something to the effect of, "Air Canada. Where the hell are you going?" My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Laurel 0 #6 September 4, 2003 QuoteUm, didn't air traffic control say something to the effect of, "Air Canada. Where the hell are you going?" Or may be, "Air Canada, put the bong down."..................................................................... PMS#28, Pelogrande Rodriguez#1074 My Pink M Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
174fps 1 #7 September 4, 2003 They were having a problem due to all the er..... smoke in the area. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dterrick 0 #8 September 4, 2003 visit http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=645101;sb=post_latest_reply;so=ASC;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;;page=unread#unread in the lesser-read 'general skydiving' forum (...beat ya) We also had the Gimli glider 'drop in' on our DZ twenty yers ago. Something tells me all the busget cuts and labour strife aretakingtheir toll -Dave Life is very short and there's no time for fussing and fighting my friend (Lennon/McCartney) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
